Vienna - Disputes between IAEA member states over Iran's
nuclear issue led to western nations on Tuesday dropping a draft
resolution urging Iran to cooperate fully with the UN nuclear
watchdog, diplomats in Vienna said.
'There will be no resolution,' a European diplomat told Deutsche
Presse-Agentur dpa, confirming earlier comments by other western
diplomats present at the week-long meeting of the International
Atomic Energy Agency IAEA.
The European-sponsored resolution - the first in two years - had
aimed at reaffirming the 'critical importance of a complete and
correct statement by Iran of all its past and present nuclear
activities,' a draft of the paper said.
Deliberations in Vienna had been overshadowed by Iran's dismissal
of intelligence on alleged weaponization studies in connection with
Iran's nuclear programme, termed a 'matter of grave concern' by
Director General Mohamed ElBaradei in his statement to the IAEA's
Board of Governors on Monday.
Russia and China, who had supported the UN Security Council
resolution adopted on Monday, seemed satisfied that this move put
enough pressure on Iran to comply with UN demands.
Members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) made very clear that
they were not supporting any resolution on Iran at this point.
'We don't think there is sentiment for a draft resolution in our
opinion that will really damage the environment of cooperation and
confidence building that had prevailed between the Islamic Republic
of Iran and the agency,' Cuba's chief delegate Norma Coicochea
Estenoz told journalists.
On Monday, the United Nations Security Council adopted a third
sanctions resolution against Iran, expanding travel bans on
individuals involved in Iran's nuclear programme, as well as banning
the sale of so-called dual-use items, which could be used in a
nuclear programme.
The Security Council also demanded Iran to suspend its
controversial uranium enrichment drive, a demand Tehran had ignored
in the past, maintaining UN resolutions had no legal basis.
Iran was referred to the Security Council two years ago by the
IAEA board for violating its obligations to the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty.
Western nations fear that the country, which hid its nuclear
programme from the IAEA for almost two decades, was secretly pursuing
nuclear weapons, a charge Iran strongly denies.
rock n roll fan.Mar 4th, 2008 - 23:26:26
i would STRONGLY urge people , not to believe the iranians , when the iranian leaders say that they are not pursuing nuclear weapons . i figure , the urge to have these types of things , is far to strong for a repressive regime to resist . Far to strong .
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