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NPT Meeting Remains Stalled Over Agenda Language Dispute
Iran has continued to hold up a Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty conference in Vienna by objecting to a proposed agenda that reaffirms “the need for full compliance with the treaty,” the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, May 1). Iranian officials believe the wording of the agenda targets Iran and serves as “an additional provocation” in the continuing crisis surrounding that nation’s nuclear program, one diplomat said. Still, Soltanieh offered hope for compromise by suggesting the agenda include language urging nuclear-weapon states to speed their disarmament efforts. Iran might accept wording specifying “that when we are talking compliance we are talking about all provisions, particularly disarmament.” This week’s treaty meeting was scheduled to last two weeks, but the agenda dispute could shorten it, said some delegates. The agenda must be approved by a consensus of the roughly 130 nations attending the session. Delegates could agree, however, to accede to Iran’s demand to remove the disputed language and begin the meeting with a limited agenda, while negotiating the compliance language in the background, according to AP. The session is the first of three annual “preparatory committees” for the treaty’s 2010 review conference (George Jahn, Associated Press/Khaleej Times, May 2). Iran’s procedural maneuvering has surprised and annoyed many nations that typically support Tehran in multinational meetings, Agence France-Presse reported. Arab nations, for example, were unhappy because they had fought for the agenda to include an item on discussing a Middle Eastern nuclear weapon-free zone, one diplomat said (Michael Adler, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, May 1).
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