UN Security Council leaders to meet on Iran

By Mark Heinrich

VIENNA (Reuters) – Foreign ministers of the five permanent
U.N. Security Council members and Germany will meet on Monday
to bridge differences over Iran’s nuclear work before a crisis
meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, diplomats said.

They said Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States
and Germany would strive in London for a consensus before the
35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) holds an emergency meeting on Iran in Vienna on February
2.

The United States and European Union allies want the IAEA
to refer Iran to the Security Council for possible sanctions.
Russia and China are urging caution, preferring something like
an IAEA statement of concern about Iran without a referral now.

“There are still differences, certainly, and things are
still in flux, but we are not too far apart. We need to agree
on a common approach,” a senior diplomat said, asking not to be
identified because of the delicacy of continuing consultations.

Political directors of the six powers, who report to
foreign ministers, failed at a January 16 London meeting to
align positions on Iran, although EU diplomats said differences
narrowed and Russia spoke of being “very close” to Western
views.

“The problem will have to be resolved at foreign minister
level. The EU powers have put their draft resolution for the
board on hold pending this next meeting, since Russia has asked
for substantial amendments,” said an EU diplomat.

“For Moscow, the key element they want in a resolution is
simply a request to ‘inform’ the Security Council about Iran,
which would permit a debate in the Security Council but nothing
else for the time being.”

He said China had told the EU it had its own proposal in
mind for the IAEA but had not presented anything in writing
yet.

MISTRUST

The West suspects a clandestine nuclear arms program is
under way in Iran, which concealed atomic research work
including uranium enrichment from the IAEA for almost 20 years
until it was exposed by Iranian exiles in 2002.

Iran says its nuclear program is designed solely to
generate electricity for its growing economy and that atomic
bombs would violate its Islamic faith.

IAEA safeguards investigators led by deputy agency director
general Olli Heinonen flew to Tehran on Tuesday in a concerted
effort to get Iran to cooperate fully with the agency’s demands
on past nuclear activities, diplomats close to the IAEA said.

They said Heinonen would press for access to the Lavisan
military site that was razed before inspectors could reach it
and test for evidence of radiation. He also wants information
on Iran’s nuclear black market activity and on a blueprint said
by diplomats to describe how to build the core of a nuclear
bomb.

Western concern has risen due to Tehran’s calls for wiping
out Israel, an alleged pattern of delays and evasion in dealing
with IAEA inspectors since 2003 and its announced resumption of
nuclear fuel research on January 9, breaking a deal with the
EU.

That fuel research move dismayed the West and sparked the
current EU-U.S. push for Security Council involvement.

But the senior diplomat said that while Iran had begun
moving equipment around and clearing space at its pilot
uranium-enrichment plant at Natanz, it was not known to have
begun operating machinery there.

Some diplomats believe Iran may be holding off on such work
to await the outcome of the February 2 IAEA crisis gathering.

IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei believes transferring
Iran’s case from agency to Security Council jurisdiction next
week would be premature and has rejected EU-U.S. requests to
speed up a wide-ranging report on Iran for the February 2
board.

Diplomats close to the IAEA say ElBaradei must stick to
IAEA due process under which he has given Iran until the next
regular board meeting on March 6 to answer questions about
alleged violations of nuclear non-proliferation rules.