U.S. and Europe Put Off Referral of Iran Case to Security Council 
By Steven R. Weisman
November 23, 2005
The New York Times
Original Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/23/international/middleeast/23diplo.html 
WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 - The United States and Europe will not seek a referral this week of their case against Iran to the United Nations Security Council, American and European diplomats said Tuesday. Instead, the diplomats said, they will allow more time for China, Russia, India and other countries to persuade Iran to stop its nuclear activities. 
The diplomats said they were convinced that Iran was becoming more isolated from other countries as a result of recent statements and actions, including threats to kick out inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency and to resume enrichment of uranium. 
Administration officials say the main achievement of the past few weeks in pressuring Iran was to enlist Russia as a partner to Germany, France and Britain, leaders of the negotiations with Iran known as the European Union Three. Russia has joined with an offer to enrich uranium on its own soil to provide for Iran's nuclear energy needs; enrichment is needed to create nuclear fuel, but can also be a precursor to making a weapon.
The point right now of our diplomatic activities in support of the EU-3, as well as Russia, is not referral, said Sean McCormack, the State Department spokesman. He said the efforts of Russia and the others, in making the uranium enrichment offer, was to get Iran back to the negotiating table, a process it has boycotted since the summer.
The United States has long favored getting the 35-member board of governors of the I.A.E.A., the United Nations nuclear monitoring body, to refer Iran's recent actions to the Security Council. The Bush administration says it has the votes to do so.
But European countries have argued that a vote that does not reflect a broad consensus on the board will send a signal of division in the West and not persuade Iran to cooperate. Without support from Russia and China, they also say, the Council would be unable to act on a recommendation from the atomic agency.