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Security Council Orders Iran To End Nuclear Work

July 31, 2006 -- The UN Security Council has approved a resolution calling on Iran to suspend its uranium-enrichment activities by the end of August or face possible sanctions.

Resolution 1696 expresses "serious concern" at Iran's refusal to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The resolution demands that Iran "suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development."

The resolution passed by a vote of 14 to one, with Qatar the lone dissenter.

The resolution does not automatically impose sanctions on Iran if it does not meet the August 31 deadline, but requires the Security Council to hold further discussions before it considers sanctions.

Tehran's Stance Firm

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad on July 30 reiterated that Iran would not make any concessions regarding its nuclear program, and he rejected the UN draft resolution.

The same day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi warned that Tehran would abandon the package of nuclear incentives offered by the international community if the Security Council approved the resolution.

Asefi said that if any resolution is issued against Iran, the package would be left off the agenda by Iran.

Giving Iran Time

Germany and the council's five permanent members with veto power -- the United States, Russia, China, France, and Britain -- have all agreed on the text of the resolution. But Russia and China have signaled reluctance to impose sanctions on Iran.

Russian UN Ambassador Valery Churkin said on July 30 that the August 31 deadline was to meet Iran's request that it be given until August 22 to respond to an offer in June from the six countries of an incentives package in exchange for suspending its nuclear work.

U.S. envoy to the IAEA Gregory Schulte predicted to Radio Farda today ahead of the Security Council vote that the resolution would "make mandatory the suspension of enrichment and reprocessing capabilities and to make clear that if Iran refuses to comply with this, they'll work for the adoption of measures under the UN charter that would impose, for example, economic sanctions."

The United States has accused Iran of secretly seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a threat that Iranian officials have consistently rejected. The IAEA has also expressed its frustration at Iranian intransigence and said Tehran has done too little to convince the UN nuclear watchdog that its nuclear ambitions are purely peaceful.

(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