UN: Report Reignites Concern Over Iran's Nuclear Ambitions

[Dover]

Last year, France, Britain, and Germany won concessions from Iran, which agreed to suspend uranium-enrichment activities to defuse the crisis over its nuclear program. But Tehran reversed that position after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in June issued a tough criticism of Iran for its lack of cooperation with IAEA inspectors. A new report issued yesterday by the UN nuclear watchdog confirms that Iran has slid away from its agreement with the European powers by resuming large-scale production of equipment to enrich uranium. RFE/RL asks an analyst about what Europe's next move might be.


Prague, 2 September 2004 (RFE/RL) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a report yesterday saying Iran plans to resume large-scale production of material to enrich uranium, a process that can help the development of nuclear weapons.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was quick to react, saying Washington will try to persuade the UN agency to refer Iran to the UN Security Council to try to impose sanctions.

The question is now whether France, Britain, and Germany will adopt the U.S. stance or try to find middle ground.

Shahram Chubin is director of research at the Geneva Center for Security Policy. He said the dilemma facing the three European states is to come up with a policy that is effective without forcing a confrontation between Iran and the Security Council. "The Iranians have moved backwards," he said. "They're slicing away at that program . They had discussions with the European countries in Paris in July, which are leading nowhere."

Chubin added: " I think that the European countries, by and large, don't share the Americans' belief that Iran is determined to get nuclear weapons. They think there's still time, that Iran hasn't made yet a definite decision. And therefore they're not convinced that the only way to deal with Iran is by confronting it."

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http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2004/09/838dafd8-4106-4a44-842d-5115b58bfd60.html

[Nambe]

1. Sorry, we're busy with Iraq's nuclear threat to the US.

Give us 10 or 15 years and we'll zip over with some shock and awe.