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Rice Calls For Quick Action Against Iran

16 January 2006 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said the world must act fast to send Iran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council.

Rice, speaking in Monrovia, Liberia, said today that Washington wants the UN nuclear watchdog agency, the IAEA, to hold an emergency meeting as soon as possible.

She added that Washington fears that if IAEA members waited until a scheduled meeting in March this would give Iran a chance to further "obfuscate" over its nuclear weapons plans.

Rice's comments came ahead of a meeting in London of representatives of the five permanent veto-holding members of the Security Council, plus Germany, on how to handle Iran's controversial nuclear program.

Three of the permanent council members -- the United States, Britain, and France -- have said they want the IAEA to hold a special session to refer Iran to the Security Council for possible sanctions.

But the other two permanent council members -- Russia and China -- have so far not backed such a move.

(Reuters, AFP)

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org