Key European nations put finishing touches Tuesday on a proposal meant to
enlist the support of Russia and China for possible U.N. Security Council
sanctions against Iran should Tehran refuse to abandon uranium enrichment,
diplomats said.
Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (front row C) sits with commanders from the Basij
Militia in Tehran May 7, 2006. The United States aims to resolve the Iran
nuclear stand-off peacefully and diplomatically, President George W. Bush
said on Tuesday. [Reuters] |
The compromise, which would drop the automatic threat of military action if
Iran remains defiant is part of a proposed basket of incentives meant to entice
Iran to give up enrichment, a possible pathway to nuclear arms. It also spells
out the penalties if it does not.
France, Britain and Germany discussed the final form of the package Tuesday
ahead of submission for hoped-for approval Wednesday at a formal meeting of the
five permanent Security Council members and Germany.
If accepted, the compromise would resolve wrangling within the Security
Council since it became actively involved in March, two months after Iran's file
was referred to it by the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy
Agency.
Russia and China have opposed calls by America, Britain and France for a
resolution threatening sanctions and enforceable by military action.
The compromise proposal is meant to break that deadlock, said the diplomats,
who demanded anonymity in exchange for discussing the package with The
Associated Press.
If Iran remains defiant, the proposal calls for a Security Council resolution
imposing sanctions under Chapter VII, Article 41 of the U.N. Charter. But it
avoids any reference to Article 42, which is the trigger for possible military
action to enforce any such resolution.
And in an additional reassurance to Moscow and Beijing, it specifically calls
for new consultations among the five permanent Security Council members on any
further steps against Iran. That is meant to dispel past complaints by the
Russians and Chinese that once the screws on Iran are tightened, it would
automatically start a process leading to military involvement.
The proposed language represents compromise by the United States, Britain and
France, which for weeks had called for a full Chapter VII resolution
automatically carrying the threat of military action if ignored by Iran.
Still, it was unclear whether the changes would be enough to satisfy Russia
and China at the six-nation meeting Wednesday because any such resolution would
still declare Iran a threat to international peace,something also opposed by
both Moscow and Beijing. Russia and China also have until recently spoken out
against possible sanctions on Tehran, their economic and strategic partner.
On the eve of the meeting, Russian news agencies cited Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov as again calling for political and diplomatic means to solve the
Iranian nuclear impasse.
Still, Lavrov also said Moscow favors the approach of the three European
Union countries in handling the crisis, a possible suggestion that it was ready
to accept the modified proposal for a council resolution as part of the package
of carrots if Iran cooperated and sticks if it didn't.
The draft European proposal, shared in part with The Associated Press, listed
among possible sanctions to imposed by the council banning travel visas for
government officials; freezing assets; banning financial transactions of key
government figures and those involved in Iran's nuclear program; an arms
embargo, and an embargo on shipping refined oil products to Iran. While Iran is
a major exporter of crude it has a shortage of gasoline and other oil
derivatives.
If Tehran agrees to suspend enrichment, enter new negotiations on its nuclear
program and lift a ban on intrusive inspections by the IAEA, they would be
offered rewards including agreement by the international community to "suspend
discussion of Iran's file at the Security Council."
The package also promised help in "the building of new light-water reactors
in Iran," offered an assured supply of nuclear fuel for up to five years, and
asked Tehran to accept a plan that would move its enrichment program to Russia.
A European official said Washington was unlikely to compromise beyond giving
up insistence that any council resolution be automatically militarily
enforceable.
Concern has been building since 2002 when Iran was found to be working on
large-scale plans to enrich uranium. Iran insists it is only interested in
generating electricity, but the international community increasingly fears it
plans to build a nuclear bomb.
A series of IAEA reports since then have revealed worrying secret activities
and documents, including drawings of how to mold weapons-grade uranium metal
into the shape of a warhead.
Iran heightened international worries by announcing on April 11 that it had
enriched uranium with 164 centrifuges. Experts estimate that Iran could produce
enough nuclear material for one bomb if it had at least 1,000 centrifuges
working for more than a year.
