World>Terrorism & Security
posted June 18, 2004, updated 12:00 p.m.

UN-Iran cooperation on nukes at risk

Diplomatic rebuke of Iran sets stage for possible Security Council action.

by Jim Bencivenga | csmonitor.com

The UN atomic agency on Friday adopted a tough resolution rebuking Iran for failing to divulge more information about its nuclear program. The action was favorably greeted by the United States and strongly criticized by Iran, reports CNN.

In harsh language, the resolution approved by the 35-member board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 'deplores' that 'Iran's cooperation has not been as full, timely and proactive as it should have been,' and notes 'with concern that after almost two years' since Iran's undeclared program came to light, 'a number of questions remain outstanding.'

Originally scheduled for release on Thursday, the resolution was delayed as diplomatic language was sought to strike the right tone between condemnation of Iran's apparent stonewalling and not causing the Islamic Republic to withdraw from the IAEA process, as it has threatened, reported The Christian Science Monitor on Thursday.


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Noticeably absent this time in the IAEA report were previous European concerns about how the wording might offend Iran, reports the Monitor:

'If the Europeans had done significantly less, they would have run into stiff opposition [from IAEA nations],' says Michael Levi, a nuclear expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington. 'The real turnaround will come when they [Iran] express a willingness to leave the IAEA process. The US wants a line beyond which Iran would be taken to the Security Council' [to face possible sanctions].

The resolution does not give a deadline, but "it states it is essential for Iran to deal with issues ' within the next few months,'" reports the Associated Press. Such a clause was sought by the US as a "trigger mechanism" that could send the Iran case to the UN Security Council for violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, says AP.

The stakes are high, as an editorial in the Jerusalem Post - prior to the IAEA resolution on Friday - declared:

The time has come for a simple question: Does Europe want Iran to go nuclear?... To some, standing up to Iran's brazen nuclear bid will be seen as starting another war. It is the opposite. It is not too late to attempt, by economic means alone, forcing Iran to go the way of Libya and getting out of the nuclear and terrorism business. The longer Europe and the US wait to act, the more the options will become limited to living with Iran as a terrorist base with a nuclear umbrella, or taking military action.

Iranian foreign ministry official Amir Hossein Zamaninia said on Thursday that the resolution was "a major departure from the reality on the ground," where Iran claims to be cooperating fully, reports AFP.

Iranian officials say the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty gives them the right to pursue nuclear power, reports the Tehran Times.

'We have never intended to enrich uranium to levels higher than 3.5 percent and have no intention of using nuclear technology for military purposes,' Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said. The row about Iran's nuclear program is political and meant to prevent Iran from accessing nuclear technology meant for peaceful purposes, he added.

The AP quotes a Western diplomat familiar with the US position as saying on Thursday that the Americans were content because they "feel this ... helps tee [Iran] up" for Security Council action at the next board meeting in September.

But such a measure is of immense concern to the drafters of the resolution, Britain, France, and Germany, reports the Monitor. "Europe wants to know what on earth would happen [if] they went to the Security Council," says the Brookings Institution's Levi, "and no one can give them a straight answer."