Major powers have to tread a tightrope: Iran N-standoff
By Indalecio Alvarez
PARIS: The world’s most powerful nations, after failing to make Iran halt its nuclear activities, now have to tread a tightrope — increasing support for a tougher UN resolution while also maintaining a united front against Tehran.
The tense standoff with Iran ratcheted up a notch on Friday when the UN Security Council received a negative report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which concluded that Iran had not suspended its nuclear programme.
The Security Council on March 29 had given Iran one month to stop its uranium enrichment activities.
Tehran maintains that its nuclear activities are for energy purposes while the Western powers, led by Washington, claim Iran is enriching uranium to develop a nuclear weapon.
Representatives from the five permanent council members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — along with Germany are scheduled to meet on Tuesday in Paris to try to come up with a common strategy. The talks will set the stage for a May 9 meeting in New York of the foreign ministers from the six countries.
But as early as next week the Western powers are expected to present to the UN body a resolution that would legally require Tehran to cease uranium enrichment work.
There is no talk of immediately imposing sanctions on Iran, but Washington, Paris and London are in agreement on passing a legally binding resolution, invoking Chapter 7 of the United Nations charter.
This chapter, referring to instances that threaten peace, can open the door to economic sanctions and, as a last resort, to military action.
However, China said on Friday it is opposed to a tougher resolution which it says would complicate the situation and lead to the start of a series of resolutions.
The fifth permanent council member, Russia, also expressed reservations about a Chapter VII resolution during a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his French counterpart Philippe Douste-Blazy on Friday while at a Nato conference in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.
But Lavrov said he was prepared to study the text of such a resolution before passing final judgement, according to a French diplomat.
“The Russians are worried about getting caught in a process that would automatically result in the eventual use of force,” the diplomat said.
US President George W. Bush has stated that the international community should present “a common front” against Tehran.
“Iran’s desire to have a nuclear weapon is dangerous, in my judgment, and the diplomatic process is just starting,” Bush told reporters at the White House on Friday, stopping short of calling for sanctions.
The European powers find themselves in the middle between the hardline US position and reticent reaction of Russia and China. They are trying to reassure the latter two nations that the process will follow carefully managed steps.
The Europeans argue that Chapter VII of the UN charter does not necessarily imply military action, although Washington has said it would not rule out the use of the force against Iran.
Western diplomats say that a new resolution that did not refer to Chapter VII would have no weight like the previous one which failed to convince Iran to halt nuclear activities.
“Something else is needed. It is time to reach agreement on a common line” in the Security Council, said the former secretary of the IAEA board of governors, Georges Le Guelte.—AFP
