IAEA postpones decision on reporting Iran to Security Council
By Yossi Melman
February 3, 2006
Haaretz
Original Source: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/678518.html


VIENNA - The United Nations nuclear watchdog's governing board is mulling the adoption of a resolution calling for all Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, to make the region free of nuclear weapons.

The idea of the new resolution followed disagreements among board member-states over the wording of a resolution referring Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear program.

In a bid to muster a large majority for the resolution against Iran, several European states have expressed support of the Egyptian-led initiative to include in the resolution a call to create a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East. 

There already is, nevertheless, a majority on the IAEA governing board for passing the resolution on Iran.

The United States has announced it opposes the Egyptian initiative, but three major European powers, Britain, France and Germany, which all support Iran?s referral to the Security Council, have agreed for the Egyptian initiative to be included in the resolution.

The four powers will hold marathon talks all through Friday night in order to reach an agreement on the issue before the body is asked to vote on the resolution on Saturday morning, after the vote was put off by one day following disagreement on the resolution's text. 

Israel?s traditional stand has been that it does not oppose a nuclear-free Middle East, but that such a move should only follow peace agreements with the Arab states. Any discussion on such an initiative would be impractical and aims at undermining Israel's international standing, the Israeli position believes.

Iran threatens retaliation
Iran has threatened to retaliate in the face of almost certain referral to the UN Security Council over concerns Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons.

Analysts predict that after the board reconvenes, a majority of 25 to 30 will approve the resolution.

Thursday's opening board session adjourned after a few hours for backdoor negotiations which EU leaders hoped would yield the maximum number of yes votes possible. Cuba, Venezuela, Syria and a few other nations at odds with Washington remained opposed. 

If reported, Iran has threatened to lash back by halting UN spot checks of its atomic sites as part of a world treaty to deter clandestine nuclear bomb-making. Tehran has also warned it would pursue industrial-scale enrichment of uranium fuel.

IAEA head Mohammed ElBaradei said the dispute was reaching a critical phase.

Although the Security Council has the power to impose sanctions on Iran, it was not clear when the Security Council will discuss the issue or what, if any, steps it will take.

The council has intentionally set no date for when it will discuss the IAEA resolution because ambassadors say they want to study the document. Because of the delicacy of the issue, consultations will likely take place in private.

Moscow and Beijing endorsed a European Union-sponsored resolution to put the council on notice about Iran so long as Tehran was given a reprieve at least until March to cooperate fully with UN probes before action, possibly including sanctions, could ensue.

The IAEA board of governors will meet in March to review the status of its probe into Iran's nuclear program and recommend further action. If the board finds Iran has not complied with IAEA protocols, Security Council diplomats will meet to discuss how to address the issue and whether to hold a formal Security Council meeting on Iran. 

Meanwhile, Iranian officials are expected in Moscow on February 16 for talks on Moscow's proposal to enrich uranium for Iran's nuclear program on Russia soil. The offer, backed by the United States and the European Union, is intended to make it more difficult for Tehran to develop weapons. Iranian officials have welcomed the proposal but say it needs work, leading to suspicions that they are stalling.