Iran Strikes Back at Big Five, by Ali Akbar Dareini
Iran struck back Tuesday at the Big Five powers' decision to refer Iran's nuclear file to the Security Council, saying referral would mean the end of diplomacy over its nuclear program.
Still, in what appeared to be an attempt to show cooperation with the West, Iran handed over documents last week on casting uranium into the shape of a warhead to the U.N. nuclear agency, diplomats in Vienna revealed.
At a London meeting that lasted into the early hours of Tuesday, envoys of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States decided they would recommend that at its Thursday meeting the International Atomic Energy Agency should report Iran to the U.N. Security Council. They also decided the Security Council should wait until the agency issues a formal report on Iran in March before tackling the issue.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, reproached Europe for the London decision.
"Reporting Iran's dossier to the U.N. Security Council will be unconstructive and the end of diplomacy," he said, according to state-run television.
"Europeans should pay more attention. Iran has called for dialogue and is moving in the direction of reaching an agreement through peaceful means," Larijani said. "The Islamic Republic of Iran doesn't welcome this. We still think that this issue can be resolved peacefully. We recommend them not to do it."
Iran has previously threatened to stop allowing surprise IAEA inspections of its nuclear facilities if it is put before the Security Council. Iran's parliament has passed a law requiring the government to stop such cooperation and resume large-scale uranium enrichment in case of referral to the Council.
Iran insists it has the right as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to build nuclear power stations and produce fuel by enriching its own uranium. But the United States and Europe suspect Iran aims touse enrichment to produce nuclear weapons, an accusation Iran denies.
Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh, who also runs Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, said there was no "legal justification to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council," according to the the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency.
In Vienna, Iran's oil minister said the gathering storm over the nuclear issue would not affect Iran's oil policy.
"We have no reason to stop our exports" because of the nuclear issue, Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh said before Tuesday's meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. "From our point of view there's no link between the two."
British, French and German representatives met Larijani's deputy, Javad Vaedi, in Brussels on Tuesday for last-ditch talks on the dispute, but failed to make any progress.
The decision by Russia and China to vote for referral surprised observers as they have consistently counselled caution on Iran's nuclear file. Both have major economic ties with Iran.
In an apparent attempt to reassure Tehran, Russia underlined that referral to the Security Council will not mean immediate action.
"The Security Council will not make any decisions," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said said.
Russian and Chinese diplomats will head to Tehran shortly to explain the meaning of the agreement reached in London and urge Iran to meet IAEA demands, he said, according to the RIA-Novosti news agency.
Moscow is trying to prevent the referral from scuttling negotiations that it hopes will persuade Iran to accept a compromise proposal -- that Iranian uranium enrichment take place on Russian territory.
Diplomats close to IAEA in Vienna said Tuesday that agency inspectors in Iran had received last week 1{ pages that describe how to cast fissile uranium into the hemispherical shape of warheads. The document, which Iran acquired on the nuclear black market, was apparently handed over to allay suspicions ahead of Thursday's meeting.
The diplomats said the IAEA inspectors asked Iran for a response to U.S. intelligence that suggested it has been pursuing nuclear weapons.
Iran broke IAEA seals at a uranium enrichment plant Jan. 10 and resumed small-scale enrichment. That prompted Britain, France and Germany, who had been negotiating with Iran, to press for referral to the Security Council.
While the IAEA has said it has found no evidence of Iran's building nuclear weapons, it has refused to give Iran a clean bill of health because of numerous unanswered questions over its atomic program.
Still, in what appeared to be an attempt to show cooperation with the West, Iran handed over documents last week on casting uranium into the shape of a warhead to the U.N. nuclear agency, diplomats in Vienna revealed.
At a London meeting that lasted into the early hours of Tuesday, envoys of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States decided they would recommend that at its Thursday meeting the International Atomic Energy Agency should report Iran to the U.N. Security Council. They also decided the Security Council should wait until the agency issues a formal report on Iran in March before tackling the issue.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, reproached Europe for the London decision.
"Reporting Iran's dossier to the U.N. Security Council will be unconstructive and the end of diplomacy," he said, according to state-run television.
"Europeans should pay more attention. Iran has called for dialogue and is moving in the direction of reaching an agreement through peaceful means," Larijani said. "The Islamic Republic of Iran doesn't welcome this. We still think that this issue can be resolved peacefully. We recommend them not to do it."
Iran has previously threatened to stop allowing surprise IAEA inspections of its nuclear facilities if it is put before the Security Council. Iran's parliament has passed a law requiring the government to stop such cooperation and resume large-scale uranium enrichment in case of referral to the Council.
Iran insists it has the right as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to build nuclear power stations and produce fuel by enriching its own uranium. But the United States and Europe suspect Iran aims touse enrichment to produce nuclear weapons, an accusation Iran denies.
Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh, who also runs Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, said there was no "legal justification to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council," according to the the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency.
In Vienna, Iran's oil minister said the gathering storm over the nuclear issue would not affect Iran's oil policy.
"We have no reason to stop our exports" because of the nuclear issue, Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh said before Tuesday's meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. "From our point of view there's no link between the two."
British, French and German representatives met Larijani's deputy, Javad Vaedi, in Brussels on Tuesday for last-ditch talks on the dispute, but failed to make any progress.
The decision by Russia and China to vote for referral surprised observers as they have consistently counselled caution on Iran's nuclear file. Both have major economic ties with Iran.
In an apparent attempt to reassure Tehran, Russia underlined that referral to the Security Council will not mean immediate action.
"The Security Council will not make any decisions," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said said.
Russian and Chinese diplomats will head to Tehran shortly to explain the meaning of the agreement reached in London and urge Iran to meet IAEA demands, he said, according to the RIA-Novosti news agency.
Moscow is trying to prevent the referral from scuttling negotiations that it hopes will persuade Iran to accept a compromise proposal -- that Iranian uranium enrichment take place on Russian territory.
Diplomats close to IAEA in Vienna said Tuesday that agency inspectors in Iran had received last week 1{ pages that describe how to cast fissile uranium into the hemispherical shape of warheads. The document, which Iran acquired on the nuclear black market, was apparently handed over to allay suspicions ahead of Thursday's meeting.
The diplomats said the IAEA inspectors asked Iran for a response to U.S. intelligence that suggested it has been pursuing nuclear weapons.
Iran broke IAEA seals at a uranium enrichment plant Jan. 10 and resumed small-scale enrichment. That prompted Britain, France and Germany, who had been negotiating with Iran, to press for referral to the Security Council.
While the IAEA has said it has found no evidence of Iran's building nuclear weapons, it has refused to give Iran a clean bill of health because of numerous unanswered questions over its atomic program.
posted by Alice at
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
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