Home>News Center>World
         
 

UN nuclear watchdog optimistic about deal on iran
(AP)
Updated: 2006-03-07 09:45

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency expressed cautious optimism Monday on the chances of reaching an international agreement to defuse concerns about Iran's nuclear activities and make UN Security Council action unnecessary.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-member board was not likely to discuss the Iran issue until Tuesday or Wednesday. But delegates said that whatever step the council might take would stop far short of sanctions.


International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohammed ElBaradei briefs the media before the beginning of a board of governors meeting at Vienna's U.N. headquarters March 6, 2006. The U.N. atomic watchdog's board of governors meets on Monday to weigh Iran's refusal to curb its nuclear activity, opening the way to possible UN Security Council action over suspicions that it wants to make atom bombs. [Reuters]
 But as the board meeting opened, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei suggested the council might not need to get involved.

"I am still very much hopeful that in the next week an agreement could be reached," ElBaradei told reporters, alluding to talks between Moscow and Tehran aimed at moving Iran's enrichment program to Russia and possible further contacts between Iran and Europe.

He did not elaborate. But diplomats told the AP that recent talks have touched on the possibility of allowing Tehran to run a scaled-down uranium enrichment program, despite its potential for misuse in building atomic weapons.

That point was significant because the Europeans and the United States have for years opposed allowing Iran any kind of enrichment capability _ a stance that Russia, China and other influential nations have embraced.

Tehran has insisted on its right to conduct enrichment, saying it wants only to produce fuel for nuclear reactors that generate electricity. But enrichment also can create fissile material for warheads, and a growing number of nations share US fears that is Iran's true goal.

Russia recently has sought to persuade Iran to move its enrichment program to Russian territory, which would allow closer international monitoring.

But the US ambassador to the United Nations suggested Security Council action was necessary, saying there was an urgent need to confront Iran's "clear and unrelenting drive" for nuclear weapons.

Iran "must be made aware that if it continues down the path of international isolation, there will be tangible and painful consequences," John Bolton told a conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Sunday.

Also Sunday, Iran's government warned that putting the issue before the Security Council would hurt efforts to resolve the dispute diplomatically.

"If Iran's nuclear dossier is referred to the U.N. Security Council, (large-scale) uranium enrichment will be resumed," Iran's top negotiator, Ali Larijani, told reporters in Tehran. "If they want to use force, we will pursue our own path."
He said Iran had exhausted "all peaceful ways," and that if demands were made contrary to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the nation "will resist."

Larijani said Iran would not abandon nuclear research or back down from pursuing an atomic program that Tehran insists is only for the peaceful purpose of generating electricity.

IAEA delegates suggested the UN agency's board would not push for confrontation with Iran, and said any initial decisions by the Security Council based on this week's meeting would be mild.

The council's most likely action, they said, would be a statement urging Iran to increase cooperation with IAEA inspectors and to resume its freeze on uranium enrichment.

Even such a mild step could be weeks down the road, but it would formally begin council involvement with Iran's nuclear file, starting a process that could culminate with political and economic sanctions.

Bolton said a failure by the Security Council to address Iran would damage the council's credibility. "The longer we wait to confront the threat Iran poses, the harder and more intractable it will become to solve."

Russia and China, which can veto Security Council actions, are for now opposed to imposing sanctions against Iran, though they share the concerns of the US., France and Britain _ the other permanent council members with veto power _ that Iran could misuse enrichment for an arms program.

Though Russia and China, which both have economic and strategic ties with Tehran, voted with the majority of IAEA board members at a February 4 meeting to report the issue to the Security Council, they insisted the council do nothing until after this week's IAEA meeting in Vienna.

Russia is unlikely to agree to strong action while it negotiates with Iran on the proposeal to move Tehran's enrichment program to Russian territory. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was due this week in Washington and New York to discuss the status of those talks with Bush administration officials and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Both Tehran and Moscow have said new talks are planned, though no dates have been announced. Iran rejected an EU proposal last year to end enrichment in return for the West providing reactor fuel and economic aid.

Past IAEA board meetings have ended with resolutions taking Iran to task for hindering investigations into a nuclear program that was kept secret for nearly 18 years and more recently urging it to reimpose a freeze on enrichment.

The February 4 resolution asked IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei to report those concerns and others to the Security Council and to formally hand over the complete Iran file to the council. It also asked him to provide the council with his latest report, drawn up for this week's IAEA meeting.

That report, made available to The Associated Press last week, said Iran appeared determined to expand uranium enrichment, planning to start setting up thousands of uranium-enriching centrifuges this year.

"We have not seen indication of diversion of ... material to nuclear weapons or other explosive devices," ElBaradei told reporters Monday. "However, there are still a number of important uncertainties that need to be clarified.

"Unfortunately, the picture is not very clear as to the scope of the program and as to the nature of the program," he said, alluding to past experiments and activities that could be used to develop nuclear arms.

Associated Press Writer Palma Benczenleitner contributed to this report.



Indunesian muslims protest against US
International Motor Show in Geneva
Attacks kill 68 in Baghdad
 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Five-year plan addresses pressing problems

 

   
 

Farmers want a 'land-leasing policy'

 

   
 

China to fill strategic oil reserve in '06

 

   
 

Co-ordination vital to curb human pandemic

 

   
 

Prosecutor: Moussaoui's lies led to 9/11

 

   
 

US dismisses talk of compromise on Iran

 

   
  Prosecution asks jury for death sentence for Moussaoui
   
  Iraqi president fails to order new parliament into session
   
  Olmert: Russia-Hamas talks harm effort to isolate group
   
  Palestinians vote to strip Abbas of powers
   
  Iraq to call new parliament into session
   
  IAEA optimistic on Iran nuke program deal
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
Manufacturers, Exporters, Wholesalers - Global trade starts here.
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 天堂av无码av一区二区三区| 日韩美女一级视频| 妖精动漫在线观看| 亚洲欧洲久久久精品| 骚视频在线观看| 国产精品永久免费视频| chinese帅哥18kt| 成人在线激情网| 久久久久久国产精品免费无码| 最近中文字幕视频高清| 亚洲国产精品无码久久一区二区| 特级毛片a级毛片在线播放www| 在线天堂新版在线观看| 动漫做羞羞的视频免费观看| 香蕉免费一级视频在线观看| 国产精品一区二区av| 一级黄色在线视频| 日本一区二区三区在线看| 九九综合VA免费看| 欧美丰满熟妇xx猛交| 亚洲日本中文字幕天天更新| 激性欧美激情在线| 免费五级在线观看日本片| 精品国产亚洲一区二区三区| 国产18禁黄网站免费观看| xxxx日本视频| 国产美女免费观看| 99r精品在线| 天堂网最新版www| ntr出差上司灌醉女职员电影| 工囗番漫画全彩无遮挡| 中文人妻无码一区二区三区| 把英语课代表按在地上c网站| 亚洲人成无码网站在线观看| 欧美黑人粗大xxxxbbbb| 亚洲精品无码精品mV在线观看| 男女做羞羞的事漫画| 免费在线观看a级毛片| 精品一区二区三区四区在线| 再深点灬好舒服灬太大了添| 精品无人区麻豆乱码1区2区 |