January 19, 2006	Thursday	Zilhaj 18, 1426

VIENNA, Jan 18: The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed on Wednesday that it would hold an emergency meeting on Feb 2 on Iran’s nuclear program following a request by Britain, France and Germany.

The European trio asked the International Atomic Energy Agency in a letter for a meeting ‘to discuss implementation of IAEA safeguards in Iran’ and previous resolutions on Tehran, the agency said in a statement.

These resolutions call on Iran to halt nuclear fuel work which has raised fears in the United States and the European Union that Tehran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons.

However, the brief letter does not call for Iran to be referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions, only for the meeting of the agency’s 35-nation board of governors, a European diplomat said.

The European trio agreed to call for the special IAEA session after meeting in London officials from the United States, China and Russia.

Diplomats say Iran is almost certain to be referred to the Security Council next month, but sharp international divisions about how to crack down on the Iranian nuclear program remain.

Iran said earlier this month it was terminating a voluntary moratorium on sensitive nuclear research, a move that caused alarm around the world.

Referral ‘is not going to change the situation really basically’, a diplomat said, referring to Russian and Chinese opposition to US and European pressure for a threat of sanctions or other measures.

The West has a majority of 21 votes on the board of governors, and Iranian allies Russia and China are expected to abstain when the issue comes up.

But in New York, Russia and China each have a veto on the Security Council.

Wednesday’s letter ‘is a technical thing. It calls for a meeting, not Security Council referral’, the diplomat said.

The ambassadors from the three European countries to the Vienna-based IAEA all signed the letter before it was submitted to the chairman of the board, an IAEA spokesman said.

The holding of a special meeting is automatic once a board member requests one, sources close to the IAEA said.

The IAEA statement said: “The decision to convene a meeting is made by the chair after informal consultations with board members.” —AFP