United front against Iran?
Diplomats say Russia, China to join Western powers in resolution critical of Tehran
Six world powers have readied a resolution critical of Iran's nuclear program, diplomats said Tuesday, as Tehran pushed forward its own alternatives to a UN-backed plan aimed at preventing it from developing nuclear weapons.
The development is significant because it groups Russia and China with the four Western powers - the US, Britain, France and Germany - in unified criticism of Iran's nuclear program. Russia and China have acted as a drag on Western calls for tougher action against Iran.
While the board passed an IAEA resolution critical of Iran in 2006 that had the support of all six world powers, subsequent attempts by the West to get backing from all 35 board nations foundered on resistance from Russia and China.
Those two nations have also resisted US and European calls for tougher UN sanctions against Iran for refusing to freeze its enrichment program.
4th set of sanctions?
The diplomats told The Associated Press that the latest draft document calls on Iran to be more open about its nuclear plans following its recent revelation that it had secretly nearly completed building a new uranium enrichment facility.
The move to criticize Iran in the form of a draft resolution for an upcoming International Atomic Energy Agency board meeting reflects international exasperation with the country's nuclear defiance.
The draft urges Iran to throw open its nuclear program to wider perusal by the IAEA, they said. It also calls on Iran to answer all outstanding questions on that enrichment facility, comply with UN Security Council demands that it suspend enrichment as well as further construction of the plant, and stop stonewalling an IAEA probe of allegations it tried to develop nuclear weapons.
While any board resolution is mostly symbolic, it does get reported to the Security Council. Beyond that, unified action in Vienna could signal that both Russia and China may be more amenable to a fourth set of Security Council sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program than they have been in past years.
The diplomats spoke two days before the board meeting. They demanded anonymity because their information was confidential.
