06 February 2006
Security Council Set To Take Up Iranian Nuclear Issue in March
State officials hope Iran will defer to heightened international pressure
By David Shelby
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington – If Iran does not comply with the demands of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) before the next meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors March 6, the U.N. Security Council will take immediate steps to address Iran’s breach of its nonproliferation obligations, according to State Department officials.
“[A]fter March sixth, after the next Board of Governors meeting, if it's the case that Iran has not met the conditions of today's vote, if it hasn't suspended its nuclear activities and returned to negotiations, then the issue is going to be alive in New York and it'll be taken up very quickly,” Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns told reporters February 4 following the IAEA’s vote to refer the issue to the Security Council.
The IAEA Board of Governors February 4 called on Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, reconsider the construction of a heavy-water research reactor, ratify the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, respect the provisions of the Additional Protocol, and provide the IAEA access to individuals, documentation and facilities related to the Iranian nuclear program. The IAEA gave Iran 30 days to comply with its demands before the Security Council becomes involved. (See related article.)
“I think that the Iranians are going to face a fairly bright spotlight in the U.N. Security Council, and at some point, they're going to have to calculate that they just simply can't go forward if the entire world is arrayed against them,” Burns said.
Burns said the Security Council would likely adopt a series of graduated steps designed to increase the pressure on Iran until it complies with the IAEA demands.
Iran triggered the IAEA action by resuming uranium conversion and enrichment activities in August 2005 and January 2006 in violation of its commitments to the European Union Three (EU-3, comprising France, Germany and the United Kingdom) and by breaking off negotiations with the EU-3 aimed at ensuring that Iran’s nuclear activities remain limited to peaceful civilian applications.
Burns said that the IAEA resolution demonstrates the international community’s strong suspicion and lack of confidence regarding Iran’s nuclear program. “It's a fairly hard-hitting document as these international agreements go,” he said.
Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph said the next steps would depend on Iran’s actions, but he was pessimistic about Iran’s initial reaction to the IAEA resolution.
“[W]hat happens in the Security Council will in large part be determined by what Iran does. But what Iran has said that it's going to do now is, you know, end those voluntary measures, including the cooperation under the Additional Protocol. Well, that would be moving in exactly the wrong direction,” he said.
After the IAEA announced its decision, Iran said it would resume all enrichment activities and halt cooperation with the IAEA in monitoring its nuclear facilities.
Burns agreed that Iran has offered no indication that it intends to cooperate with the international community, but he expressed hope that increased international pressure could convince Tehran to turn back from its present course.
“It seems that they do care what the international community says and thinks about it, and they've pulled out all the stops to deter us from going to the council,” he said.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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