|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Tehran Agrees to Delay Nuclear Work
Iran has agreed to a two-day delay of its plans to resume uranium reprocessing in response to a request from International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 1). ElBaradei requested a “maximum of two days” to send inspectors to Isfahan, where Tehran has said it plans to break U.N. seals on nuclear equipment, said Ali Aga-Mohammadi, spokesman for Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. The agency, however, denied asking for only two days. “We have sent a letter to Iran indicating that it would take at least a week to get our surveillance equipment and other required measures in place,” spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said yesterday. ElBaradei, meanwhile, warned Iran “not to take any action that might prejudice the [diplomatic] process at this critical stage.” “I also call on Iran not to take any unilateral action that could undermine the agency inspection process at a time when the agency is making steady progress in resolving outstanding issues,” ElBaradei said (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press/ABC News, Aug. 1). Iran today announced that its decision to resume nuclear activities at Isfahan was irreversible, Reuters reported. “The political decision has been taken. ... The resumption is irreversible,” said Aga-Mohammadi (Reuters, Aug. 2). The United States said yesterday that Iran’s case would be referred to the U.N. Security Council if it restarts the work, Agence France-Presse reported. “If they’re not going to abide by their agreement and obligations, then we would have to look to the Security Council,” said White House spokesman Scott McClellan (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Aug. 1). French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said today that the European Union planned to propose an emergency IAEA Board of Governors meeting, AP reported. “This Iranian affair is very serious,” said Douste-Blazy. “It could be the beginning of a major international crisis.” Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said the case should be sent to the U.N. Security Council if Iran resumes uranium processing at Isfahan. “It will be submitted to the Security Council if Iran does not comply,” Villepin told Europe-1 radio. “Iran must hold to the commitments it has made” (Christine Ollivier, Associated Press/Washington Post, Aug. 2). Three senior diplomats said they suspected Iran of posturing, the Los Angeles Times reported. “Every month or two they go through this … but they’d be really dumb to do it,” a senior Bush administration official said. “There’s a whole lot of posturing involved with the Iranians at any given moment, so I wouldn’t read too much into it.” “We think it’s negotiating pressure to focus the E-3 minds,” said a Western diplomat based in Vienna, referring to France, Germany and the United Kingdom. “The E-3 still is divided on what to offer.” “They are definitely testing us, but we don’t know whether they are testing us to get a better deal,” said one European diplomat. Another European official, however, said Iran’s announcement was “of great concern to us.” “We take their intentions very seriously,” the official said. “We will judge them by their actions, and we will look to the IAEA to inform us of activity on the ground” (Efron/Frantz, Los Angeles Times, Aug. 2).
| ||||||||||
Back to top
