West looking for Russian support : Iran’s referral to UN
By Michael Adler
VIENNA: The United States and the European Union will hold off taking Iran before the UN Security Council over its nuclear program until they get Russia to back them and may even allow Tehran to do some nuclear fuel work, according to diplomats.
“If the Russians don’t come around, there could not be referral in November,” a European diplomat said, referring to a Nov 24 meeting of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which could send Iran to the Security Council.
“The next month is all about Russia handling,” a Western diplomat said about efforts to win Moscow’s support.
The United States and EU negotiators Britain, France and Germany (EU3) fear Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons and want it brought before the Security Council, which has the power to impose penalties such as trade sanctions.
But Russia, which has a lucrative contract to build Iran’s first nuclear power reactor, has a veto on the council.
The IAEA’s 35-nation board of governors last month found Iran in non-compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, paving the way for the matter to be referred to the council if Iran does not halt nuclear fuel work and cooperate fully with an IAEA investigation.
Russia reiterated its support on Monday for Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran says is a peaceful effort to generate electricity, and said all questions about it should be handled by the IAEA.
“This way we can find a decision acceptable by all sides that, on the one hand, allows Iran its lawful right to a peaceful nuclear energy program and, on the other hand, does not allow any doubts about the peaceful character of this activity,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks in Moscow with his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki.
Earlier this month, Mr Lavrov and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice openly aired their differences over the issue.
The Russian minister defended Tehran’s ‘right’ to nuclear energy, while Ms Rice retorted that Iran also had ‘obligations’ under the NPT.
Diplomats said a compromise may be for Iran to be allowed to do preliminary nuclear fuel work, something the EU has so far refused.
Under such a deal, Iran would be allowed to convert uranium ore into the UF6 (uranium hexafluoride) gas that is the feedstock for making enriched uranium, but not to take the next step and enrich uranium. Enriched uranium is fuel for civilian nuclear power reactors but can also be the raw material for atom bombs.
“A compromise would involve Iran keeping some conversion capability eventually,” the Western diplomat said. But the diplomat said Iran would still have to halt this work in order for talks with the EU-3 to resume and would not be allowed to do actual enrichment.
“The idea is to sweeten the EU3 offer as Russia is trying to do everything to keep some conversion for Iran,” the diplomat said.
Another diplomat said Russia was proposing to supply Iran with natural uranium and take back the UF6 gas made through conversion and for there possibly to be a joint venture in Russia with Iran for further processing of nuclear fuel.
The diplomat said the West wanted diplomacy with Iran to effectively ‘be an EU3-Russia-US effort from now on’.
“But if Iran resumes uranium enrichment, Russia will not stop them going to the council,” the diplomat said.—AFP
