08 March 2006
U.N. Nuclear Agency Sends Iran Report to Security Council
Council expected to take up the matter the week of March 12
By David Shelby
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded discussions about Iran’s nuclear activities at the close of its board of governors meeting March 8 and has sent a report to the U.N. Security Council to enlist the council’s support in persuading Iran to cooperate with IAEA efforts to monitor its nuclear program.
“Regrettably … after three years of intensive verification, there remain uncertainties with regard to both the scope and the nature of Iran’s nuclear program,” IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters in Vienna, Austria, after the close of the meeting. “As I mentioned in my report, this is a matter of concern that continues to give rise to questions about the past and current direction of Iran’s nuclear program.”
“The Director General’s report resoundingly demonstrates that Iran has failed -- on each and every count -- to meet the requests from the board's February 4 decision,” U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Vienna Gregory Schulte told members of the IAEA board.
On February 4, the IAEA board adopted a resolution calling on Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment-related activities, reconsider plans to build a heavy-water reactor, ratify the Additional Protocol and cooperate with the agency by providing full access to individuals and documents related to its nuclear program. The board asked the director-general to prepare a report on Iran’s compliance with these demands within 30 days and convey the report to the U.N. Security Council.
Schulte said Iran has done nothing to address the agency’s concerns. “Quite the contrary, their behavior has only contributed to mounting international concerns about its pursuit of nuclear weapons,” he said.
Speaking to the House International Relations Committee March 8, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph said he expects the Security Council to take up the issue of Iranian noncompliance with the IAEA early in the week of March 12. He said the Security Council would not supplant the IAEA’s efforts but reinforce them by lending its weight to the agency’s requests for cooperation. (See related article.)
Unlike the IAEA, the Security Council has the power to take punitive measures, such as imposing sanctions. Senior U.S. officials said, however, that they do not intend to seek sanctions as a first step. Joseph told members of Congress that the United States would like to see a presidential statement from the Security Council demanding Iranian compliance with IAEA resolutions.
A presidential statement requires agreement by all 15 members of the Security Council.
Joseph said that if Iran refused to respect the presidential statement, it would be necessary to draft a Security Council resolution “to put increased pressure on Iran to comply.”
Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns told the congressional committee members that if the presidential statement and the resolution fail to achieve Iranian cooperation, the Security Council would have to consider targeted sanctions. He added that even thought the United States would take no options off the table, it strongly favors a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the problem.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is in New York for a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, agreed with the measured approach to Security Council action on the issue. He told reporters, “We should all strive for a solution which would not endanger the ability of the IAEA to continue its work in Iran while making sure, of course, there is no danger for the nonproliferation regime.”
“A NEW PHASE OF DIPLOMACY”
ElBaradei called the Security Council involvement “a new phase of diplomacy.” He told reporters, “The Security Council will lend its weight to the IAEA’s efforts so as to make sure Iran will work as closely as possible with us, so as to make sure that Iran takes the required confidence building measures.”
Iranian officials indicated that they would continue pursuing uranium enrichment activities in spite of the IAEA’s demands. Schulte said Iran already has produced an 85-ton stockpile of uranium hexafluoride gas, which, if enriched, could generate enough fissile material for 10 nuclear weapons. He also said Iran has documents explaining how to cast enriched uranium into hemispheres suitable for bombs.
Joseph dismissed Iran’s claim that it is engaged in uranium enrichment for peaceful power generation. He noted that Iran already has a guaranteed fuel supply for its only nuclear power plant and will not have any more plants for at least another 10 years.
“The only plausible explanation for the urgency of the Iranian enrichment program is to produce fissile material that can be used in nuclear weapons as soon as possible, no matter the international cost,” he said.
Burns said that the entire international community has come to the same conclusion about the nature of Iran’s intentions.
“Iran’s actions – its history of deception and continuing efforts to avoid full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency – have convinced leaders of every political persuasion, in every corner of the globe, that Iran’s leaders intend to acquire nuclear weapons,” he said.
Schulte told the members of the IAEA board, “The time has now come for the Security Council to act.”
A transcript of Schulte’s remarks is available on the Web site of U.S. mission to international organizations.
(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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