WASHINGTON, April 21: The United States, seeking to step up pressure on Iran, on Friday called for an embargo on the sales of arms and sensitive equipment to Tehran unless it gives up its alleged nuclear arms ambitions.
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns made the call as Washington faced stubborn opposition from Moscow and Beijing to taking tough UN action against Tehran for its alleged bid to build a nuclear bomb.
Arguing that the dispute had to be dealt with ‘at a variety of levels’, Mr Burns said: “We think it’s time for countries to use their leverage with Iran.”
“We think it’s important that countries prohibit the use — the export of — dual-use (military-civilian) technologies that Iran can make use of in constructing its nuclear program,” he told a news briefing.
“It’s very important that countries like Russia, for instance, freeze any arms sales planned for Iran,” said Mr Burns, undersecretary for political affairs and the number three official in the State Department.
Mr Burns singled out Russia’s plans to sell Iran 29 TOR M1 mobile surface-to-air missile defence systems in a contract worth more than 700 million dollars.
“We hope and we trust that that deal will not go forward because this is not time for business as usual with the Iranian government,” he said.
Robert Joseph, undersecretary of state for arms control, said he toured the Gulf last week and held talks with regional officials on a variety of other possible measures against Iran.
Among them were efforts to intercept the transfer of sensitive materials and technologies, a crackdown on front companies and bank accounts being used to aid Tehran, and greater cooperation in missile defence.
Mr Burns spoke after holding meetings earlier this week with major world powers in Moscow, where he said there was general agreement on the need to keep Iran from developing nuclear arms but no accord on possible UN sanctions.
The United States had been ratcheting up its diplomatic effort against Tehran since since Iran announced on April 11 it had taken a major step forward in its nuclear program by enriching small amounts of uranium.
Mr Joseph said the Iranians were ‘very close’ to a point of no return in the West’s ability to curb their march towards mastery of the sensitive nuclear fuel cycle.
“It’s fair to say, I believe, that the Iranians have put both feet on the accelerator,” Mr Joseph said. “They’re moving very quickly to establish new realities on the ground associated with their nuclear program.”
He said he had little reason to doubt the Iranians’ claim they had converted enough uranium for 110 tons of UF-6 gas for enrichment in centrifuges, and this meant they had accumulated sufficient material for more than 10 bombs.
Tehran’s assertion it was able to operate a cascade of 164 centrifuges and enrich uranium to 3.5 per cent would mean they were ‘well on your way’ to producing industrial-size volumes of weapons-grade material, Mr Joseph said.
Iran, which insists its nuclear program is strictly for peaceful purposes, has announced plans to install 3,000 centrifuges within a year and ultimately run some 54,000 centrifuges.—AFP
