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U.S. Plays Down Expectations for G-8 Meeting on Iran Today; Iran Threatens to Bar IAEA Inspectors
A “carrots and sticks” proposal aimed at persuading Iran to cease suspected nuclear weapons development is set to be presented today by European members of the Group of Eight economic powers at a meeting in Washington, U.S. and European officials said (see GSN, Oct. 14). According to the plan, G-8 member nations would approach Iran individually, but with a unified demand that Tehran immediately and permanently halt uranium enrichment and related activities or face having its case sent to the U.N. Security Council, the Washington Post reported. “We want to make clear to Iran that it has to comply immediately, and everyone agrees we should go to the Security Council (if it does not). If they do, we might start talking about what we might be able to offer — in comprehensive ways, not just economic,” said a European envoy familiar with the draft (Wright/Linzer, Washington Post, Oct. 15). U.S. officials yesterday sought to lower expectations for the plan. “This is not a decision meeting. It’s not going to come up with a joint position. ... It’s for the Europeans to preview with us what they intend to say to the Iranians,” a senior U.S. official told Reuters. He added that the administration does not think the new initiative would be more effective than previous European efforts at diplomacy with Iran. “Especially since June, the Iranians have stiffed the Europeans repeatedly (and this experience suggests) that Iran is not going to come around,” he said. The Europeans want U.S. agreement for a final diplomatic push to present the package to the Iranians, said Robert Einhorn, top U.S. nonproliferation official in the Clinton administration. “What’s also different here is the clear implication that this is a last attempt, that either Iran agrees clearly to a genuine comprehensive suspension of (uranium) enrichment or the issue will go to the Security Council,” said Einhorn. Both the U.S. official and Einhorn said the Europeans have moved closer to the U.S. position on sending Iran to the Security Council of it does not agree at the Nov. 25 meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency to suspend nuclear work. “The Europeans and Russia have to send a lot tougher message than before. ... They have to signal that if this goes to the Security Council, there won’t be gridlock in New York but instead Iran will face a progression of increasingly tough measures,” Einhorn said (Carol Giacomo, Reuters, Oct. 14). Meanwhile, a top Iranian legislator traveling in Moscow said yesterday that Iran would bar inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency if debate on its nuclear work was moved to the Security Council, Agence France-Presse reported. “There will be no place for any kind of inspections, no continuation of our openness with IAEA inspectors,” said Aladdin Boujerdi, chairman of the Iranian parliament’s committee on national security and foreign affairs. Alexander Rumyantsev, head of Russia’s Atomic Energy Agency, could sign an agreement on return of spent nuclear fuel to Russia next month during an expected visit to Iran “if commercial issues are resolved by that time,” said Gholameza Shafei, Iranian ambassador to Russia. U.S. officials have repeatedly alleged that Iran’s ample natural resources make justification for a nuclear power reactor untenable. Boujerdi said such arguments are unreasonable. “The American argument that we have oil and gas resources and therefore we don’t need nuclear power sounds like a joke,” Boujerdi said. “One day the resources will run out and we are responsible to future generations of our people.” (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 14).
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