World powers press Iran on nuclear issue

Al-Shorfa and wire services
For Al-Shorfa.com
2009-11-24

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei (L) speaking to the press in Berlin on Nov. 20. (John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images)

BRUSSELS — On Nov. 20, the representatives of six world powers urged Iran to accept a UN plan aimed at delaying its enrichment of uranium, while the head of the Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a UN nuclear watchdog agency, warned Tehran not to miss the opportunity to resolve the dispute with them and other concerned nations.

An EU official said there was no mention in Brussels of imposing sanctions against Iran for its refusal to halt nuclear enrichment activities at the meeting of senior diplomats from the UN Security Council's five permanent members and Germany, known as the P5+1. The talks involved political directors who are Foreign Ministry officials reporting to the minister. The U.S. was represented by Undersecretary of State William Burns and Russia by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

On Nov. 17, Tehran said it would not export its enriched uranium for further processing, effectively rejecting the latest plan brokered by the IAEA, aimed at delaying the prospect of Iran building a nuclear weapon.Under the IAEA plan, Iran would export its uranium for enrichment to Russia and France, where it would be converted into fuel rods that would be returned to Iran approximately one year later. The rods can power nuclear reactors, but cannot be readily upgraded into weapons-grade material.

The P5+1 political directors expressed disappointment over Iran's failure to engage in further dialogue since the promising Oct. 1 meeting in Geneva, and noted that Tehran had not responded positively to the IAEA proposal

"We urge Iran to reconsider the opportunity offered by this agreement...and to engage seriously with us in dialogue and negotiations," the P5+1 statement said.

In Berlin, IAEA’s chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, pressed Iran to work with the international community. "I would hate to see that we are moving back to sanctions…because sanctions, at the end of the day...really don't resolve issues." He said the IAEA had not yet received a formal reply from Tehran to its proposals, although Iranian officials had told him they would not send uranium for reprocessing abroad unless they first received the promised fuel rods.

"Well, that to me is an extreme case of distrust," ElBaradei said. "And what we are really trying to do is replace distrust with a degree of trust."

On Nov. 19, Iranian Foreign Minister Manochehr Mottaki played down the threat of sanctions, saying that embargos had been proven to be ineffective in the past and that he did not believe they would be tried again.

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