EU Calls on Iran to Boost Nuclear Transparency

The European Union this week urged Iran to sign the Convention on Nuclear Safety, a move that would enable other countries to question Tehran on safety measures in place at its Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, April 16).

During a closed, two-week meeting of EU nations, Slovenian delegate Tomaz Nemec noted that Iran is “the only country building a nuclear power plant without being a contracting party to the Convention on Nuclear Safety.” Slovenia, which currently holds the group’s rotating presidency, called on “Iran to accede to the convention.”

If it signs the treaty, Iran could not be forced to disclose details on disputed nuclear work that the United States and other Western powers suspect is aimed at nuclear weapons development.  Still, the convention could provide a means for the international community to keep tabs on the Bushehr facility, which is nearing completion and could begin operating this year.

Iran has not signaled an intention to sign the treaty, according to one diplomat who attended the conference.  Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iranian envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, declined to comment on the speech because he had not reviewed its contents (Associated Press I/Google News, April 16).

Meanwhile, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union had a “good meeting” yesterday, although they failed to agree on what incentives to offer Iran for halting its controversial nuclear work.

“They had some good discussions but the bottom line is they are going to have to continue discussions on it,” McCormack said of the daylong talks in Shanghai.  He noted that in order to receive the incentives, Iran must halt its uranium enrichment program, which could produce material for a nuclear bomb.  Iran says the program is intended to generate nuclear power plant fuel (Associated Press II/International Herald Tribune, April 17).

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today expressed confidence that Iran would  not acquire nuclear weapons, Agence France-Presse reported.

“I can say … that, to my knowledge, and on the basis of what I know and read, I believe the efforts of the international community will succeed, and that Iran will not become a nuclear power,” he told the Maariv daily.  “There is an enormous effort on the part of the international community to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear country.  Israel plays an important part in those efforts, without leading them” (Agence France-Presse/Google News, April 17).

Elsewhere, the Democratic contenders for the U.S. presidency addressed the Iran issue during a debate yesterday in Philadelphia, Reuters reported.

Senator Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) said the United States should offer security assurances to Middle Eastern states that vow not to pursue their own nuclear weapons programs.

“I think that we should be looking to create an umbrella of deterrence that goes much further than just Israel,” she said.  “We will let the Iranians know that, yes, an attack on Israel would trigger massive retaliation, but so would an attack on those countries that are willing to go under the security umbrella and forswear their own nuclear ambitions.”

Both Clinton and Senator Barack Obama (Ill.) said they were dedicated to preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power.

“I will take no options off the table when it comes to preventing [Iran] from using nuclear weapons or obtaining nuclear weapons,” Obama said.  “And that would include any threats directed at Israel, or any of our allies.”

The candidates have called for U.S.-Iranian dialogue over Tehran’s nuclear program, but Clinton has ruled out meeting personally with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"We've got to begin diplomatic engagement with Iran, and we want the region and the world to understand how serious we are about it," she said (Jeff Mason, Reuters, April 16).

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