US allies propose tough UN resolution on Iran

By Mark Turner 
May 3, 2006
The Financial Times
Original Source: http://news.ft.com/cms/s/6b45c2ee-dae1-11da-aa09-0000779e2340.html

Britain and France proposed a tough new draft Security Council resolution, ordering Iran to cease nuclear enrichment or face the possibility of “further measures” to ensure its compliance.
The move was backed by the US, but faced continued Russian and Chinese resistance to use of the UN’s tough chapter 7 enforcement powers, which determine a threat to international peace and security, and can be used to authorize sanctions or military force. “I don’t think this draft as it stands now will produce good results,” said Wang Gunagya, China’s UN ambassador.
The full Security Council on Wednesday afternoon began discussions on the draft which told Iran to suspend immediately “all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities”, including research and development, as well as the construction of a heavy water reactor.
It also called on all countries to “exercise vigilance in preventing the transfer of items, materials, goods and technology that could contribute to Iran’s enrichment-related and reprocessing activities and missile programmes”.
That phrase appeared to foreshadow possible future sanctions, which diplomats say are likely to include measures to prevent Iraq from acquiring a nuclear weapon, although unlikely to go as far as measures taken to contain Iraq.
The draft warned the UN would “consider such further measures as may be necessary to ensure compliance with this resolution”, although “further examination will be required should such additional steps be necessary”.
European diplomats stress, however, that all steps are reversible if Iran comes back into compliance.
The resolution calls for a report back from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, but left the time frame blank. John Bolton, the US ambassador to the UN, said it “should be a very short time”, and described the new resolution as part of a 2-step process.
Emyr Jones Parry, Britain’s UN ambassador, said the Security Council needed to respond to Iran’s failure to comply with its previous calls. He claimed all five permanent members of the Council shared the same strategic objective.
But diplomats said a meeting of high-level foreign policy officials in Paris this week did not go well, and expected tough negotiations ahead.
The text’s sponsors hoped a deal could be struck before a meeting of their foreign ministers next Monday, ahead of a Quartet meeting on the Middle East process. But analysts suspected that was highly unlikely.