[Vision2020] How is the World Safer? (Iran)

[Tom Hansen]

Iran refuses to abandon nuclear program 

U.S. may seek U.N. sanctions and use of force suggested

 

Ali Akbar Dareini

Associated Press

September 13, 2004

 

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran said Sunday it would not abandon uranium enrichment,
rejecting a key demand by three European powers that have threatened to
intensify pressure if Tehran does not curb its nuclear program.

 

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Iran already had the
technology required for its nuclear fuel cycle, and would not reverse the
situation. But he repeated that Iran was willing to provide guarantees that
it was not seeking to build nuclear weapons.

 

A top U.S. official said Sunday that the United States will pursue U.N.
sanctions against Iran unless it renounces the quest for nuclear weapons.
Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton, during a visit to Israel, said
President Bush is "determined to try to find a peaceful and diplomatic
solution" to the issue, but hinted that all options, including the use of
force, remain open.

 

"We're determined that they're not going to achieve a nuclear-weapons
capability," he said.

 

Asefi's comments came a day before a meeting of the International Atomic
Energy Agency's board to consider Tehran's nuclear program.

 

Board members France, Germany and Britain have come closer to the U.S.
stance that the IAEA should refer Iran's nuclear file to the U.N. Security
Council - a step that could lead to imposition of sanctions.

 

The three European nations have prepared a draft resolution for the IAEA
board that would set a November deadline for Iran to meet demands aimed at
clearing up concerns over its nuclear program.

 

Among the demands is that Iran commit not to pursue uranium enrichment and
halt related activities.

 

The draft, obtained by the Associated Press, would set a "trigger
mechanism," warning of possible "further steps" if Iran does not comply.
Diplomats say the warning is shorthand for referral of Iran's case to the
Security Council.

 

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, aiming only to produce energy.
Uranium enrichment can produce fuel for a reactor - or, at a higher level of
enrichment, material for nuclear weapons.

 

In recent months, Tehran has backed off an earlier suspension of enrichment
activities and resumed some preparations for enrichment, though it has not
resumed enrichment itself.

 

"If the demand is that we don't master nuclear technology for peaceful
purposes, it's out of the question because we have reached that point,"
Asefi told a press conference.

 

"But if Europeans want assurances that we only make peaceful use of nuclear
energy, we are ready to give guarantees," he said.

 

Asefi said the guarantees Iran was prepared to offer will be within the
framework of the additional protocol to the Nuclear Non-proliferation
Treaty.

 

"We are ready to give any sort of guarantees within the framework of the
additional protocol," he said.

 

Before a meeting with Israel's foreign minister, Bolton said that economic
sanctions against Iran are "not inevitable." He said that if Iran follows
the lead of Libya, which agreed last year to dismantle nuclear weapons
programs, it could prevent sanctions, but noted that Iran has refused to
take the necessary steps in the last five meetings held by the U.N.'s
International Atomic Energy Agency.

 

He said the United States and Europe are close to agreement on what steps to
take against Iran and that he expected the two sides to reach a deal at the
upcoming IAEA meeting.

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