Iran: referral of nuclear issue to Security Council means end of diplomacy
Iran-UN, Politics, 1/31/2006

Iran's Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani said today referral or reporting of Iran to the Security Council will bring an end to diplomacy.

IRNA reported that: The five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- US, Russia, China, France and the UK-- and Germany agreed at a meeting early Tuesday that the IAEA's upcoming meeting in Vienna on Thursday (Feb 2) should refer Iran to the UNSC for its nuclear programs.

Reacting to the agreement, Larijani said: "We will consider any referral or reportin of Iran to the Security Council over its nuclear case as the end of diplomacy."

"This would not be positive at all for the European countries and the Board of Governors of the agency," he told reporters after his meeting with the visiting Omani Foreign Minister Yousuf Bin Alawi.

"No referral has been mentioned in the statement. But, to me, the Europeans should be more careful," he said referring to the joint statement issued by the 5+1 Group in London. He nonetheless reiterated the Islamic Republic of Iran's call for holding further talks with the Europeans, saying Iran still believes peaceful avenues should be exhausted to reach a peaceful solution to the issue.

"We still believe that we can achieve good results through talks, but it will not be in the interest of the Europeans should they define the conditions in a non-peaceful way," Larijani said.

Britain, France, China, US and Russia plus Germany, in a joint statement issued after their meeting in London Monday, also tasked the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to report whatever conclusions it has reached on Iran's nuclear programs to the UN Security Council.

A reporter asked Larijani whether Russia, as a member of the Group 5+1 which also agreed to Iran's referral to the UNSC, would change its stance during upcoming talks with senior Iranian officials in Tehran. "I am not aware of Russia's stance yet. Russian officials have not clarified their stance. Such stance should be determined in their presence. "Iran's right for access to peaceful nuclear technology should be officially recognized. No one should resist the Iranian nation's will. "Iran will accept nothing beyond the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)."

Pointing to "look to the East policy", the SNSC secretary added, "Iran always makes decisions based on its national interests. Our relations with the East has been defined within the framework of our national interests."

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