European nations draft UNSC referral
The Associated Press
January 17, 2006
The Jerusalem Post
Original Source: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1136361098668&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Key European countries have begun work on a resolution that asks member countries of the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer Iran to the UN Security Council, and the United States is lobbying board members to vote for the measure early next month, diplomats revealed Tuesday. 
Still, a draft text that was read to The Associated Press by a European diplomat accredited to the IAEA stopped short of the calls for sanctions sought by the United States and some of its closest backers. 
Instead, it urges the Council to press Tehran to extend full and prompt cooperation to the agency in its investigation, which has been conducted for more than three years now, of suspect nuclear activities. It also asks the Council to make clear to Iran that additional transparency measures are indispensable if it hopes to prove to the world that it does not want to make nuclear weapons. 
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned Tuesday that Israel cannot allow countries with hostile intentions to acquire weapons of mass destruction, a clear reference to Iran, as top Israeli security experts headed to Russia to seek support against suspected Iranian efforts to develop nuclear weapons. 
Last week, European Union negotiators, backed by the United States, said nuclear talks with Iran had reached a dead end after more than two years of acrimonious negotiations and recommended the issue be referred to the Security Council. But with the support of Russia and China uncertain, they refrained from calling on the 15-nation council to impose sanctions.

Iran says its nuclear program is intended only to produce energy, but Israel, the US and others accuse Teheran of seeking to develop nuclear arms. 
Israel considers Teheran to be its greatest threat. Recent statements by Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling for Israel's destruction and Russia's plans to sell Iran missiles and other defense systems valued at more than $1 billion have only fueled those fears. 
Israeli officials have said repeatedly that they hope diplomacy can end the crisis. At the same time, they've warned that a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, led by others, might be necessary - but only as a last resort. 
Asked about Iran, Olmert said Tuesday that under no circumstances can the state of Israel allow someone with hostile intentions against us to have control over weapons of mass destruction that can endanger our existence. 
I believe there is a way to guarantee that nonconventional weapons won't be found in irresponsible hands that can endanger world peace, Olmert said, without elaborating. 
He spoke just hours before the Israeli security team was to take off. It was his first comment on Iran since he became acting prime minister following Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's debilitating stroke on January 4. 
Israel is pushing its diplomatic initiative against Iran on the Russian front because Teheran has close ties with Moscow, which is building a nuclear power station in Iran. 
Teheran on Monday signaled possible progress toward resolving the deadlock over its nuclear ambitions by praising a Russian proposal to move Iran's uranium enrichment program to Russia, which would allow close oversight. 
Israeli officials think Tehran is closer to the point of no return in developing weapons than Western countries do, arguing that point is not when Iran might have a bomb, but when it might have the technology to produce the fissile component of nuclear warheads. 
Israeli defense officials have said that once Iran resumes its enrichment of uranium, as it has announced it would do, it would be able to produce fissile materials in six to 12 months.