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Iran Says UN Referral Will Mean End Of Inspections

1 February 2006 -- Iran has threatened to halt cooperation with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency in three days and restart uranium-enrichment work if the country is referred to the UN Security Council.

A top U.S. diplomat, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, said such moves would be an "additional miscalculation" that would further isolate Iran internationally.

The Iranian nuclear case is expected to be forwarded to the Security Council at a meeting on 2 February of the governing board of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. The Security Council's five permanent members -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain, and France -- have backed the referral.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki warned on Iranian television late on 31 January that a referral to the Security Council would result in Iran halting cooperation with the IAEA as of 4 February.

Officials at the IAEA said Iran has begun preparations for enriching uranium, a process which can produce material for nuclear reactors or atomic bombs.

Iran denies allegations that it is secretly trying to make a nuclear weapon, saying its atomic program is for peaceful purposes only.

(compiled from agency reports)

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