US Rebukes IAEA Over Iran

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Sep 14, 2004
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IAEA Must Refer Iran Nuke Breaches to UN Council -US
Wed Mar 2, 2005 06:16 AM ET
By Louis Charbonneau and Francois Murphy

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7782728

VIENNA (Reuters) - Washington accused the U.N. atomic watchdog on Wednesday of failing to meet its "statutory obligation" to refer Iranian breaches of its non-proliferation obligations to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.

Washington accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran denies this, insisting its nuclear ambitions are limited to the peaceful generation of electricity.

"The Security Council has the international legal and political authority that will bring this issue to a successful and peaceful resolution," U.S. ambassador Jackie Sanders said in the text of a speech delivered at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) board of governors.

"The (IAEA) board cannot ignore forever its statutory obligation to report this matter to the UNSC," Sanders said, referring to what she described as Iran's "non-compliance" with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

She said the Security Council (UNSC) also "has the authority to require and enforce a suspension of Iran's (uranium) enrichment-related and (plutonium) reprocessing activities," something Tehran has done voluntarily.

Sanders referred to Tuesday's speech by IAEA deputy director general Pierre Goldschmidt, who said Iran had rejected an IAEA request to inspect the Parchin military complex and was forging ahead with plans to build a heavy-water reactor that can produce bomb-grade plutonium -- despite an IAEA request Tehran scrap it.

"Dr Goldschmidt's recitation ... provides us with a startling list of Iranian attempts to hide and mislead, and delay the work of IAEA inspectors," she said.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani, speaking to state television on Tuesday night, said Iran was not afraid of being sent to the Security Council.

"We are not interested in being referred to the Security Council ... but we are not scared of the council either because we have been acting within the framework of international rules," he said.

EUROPE ALSO CRITICIZES

France, Britain and Germany, who are spearheading atomic talks with Iran, also criticized Tehran for not keeping its pledge to suspend all sensitive parts of its nuclear program that could be used in bomb-making.

In its statement to the board, the EU trio cited Iran's pledge to suspend activities linked to uranium enrichment, and said Tehran's recent cleaning and quality control work on enrichment centrifuge parts was "of serious concern."

"We understand this decision as a voluntary commitment to suspend all, meaning each and every, enrichment-related activities, without exceptions. We urge Iran to keep to this voluntary commitment," Robert Wright, head of Britain's delegation to the IAEA meeting, said for the European trio.

Rohani tacitly acknowledged that Iran had pressed ahead with some nuclear work despite the freeze agreed with the EU.

"During the talks, we have never been deferred technically ... We have suspended some activities but we have intensified some others. We have been careful about not wasting our time. The longer the period of talks, the more harmful it will be for us," he told state television.

Wright said Iran seemed determined to limit the scope of U.N. "transparency visits," non-compulsory IAEA inspections which diplomats say are crucial if Iran is to prove its atomic intentions are peaceful as it says they are.

President Bush, at the request of key European allies, is mulling whether to join forces with the EU trio, who have offered Tehran economic and political incentives if it terminates its enrichment program.

Iran refuses to permanently abandon enrichment, saying the production of enriched uranium fuel -- a process that can be used to make fuel for power plants or weapons -- is a sovereign right it will never give up.
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Well it's about time! Actually way past time. The US really should be making a concerted effort to point out the sins of the UN and bring attention to what they are still doing in their effort to appear 'the superior conscience' of the world. They are a joke, but not funny.
 

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