Opposition to US sanctions for Iran nuclear issue strong
Iraq-UN, Politics, 9/14/2006

The US ambassador to international organizations in Vienna Paris, Gregory L. Schulte, said the UN Security Council should impose sanctions on Iran as part of ongoing diplomacy aimed at convincing Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment activities, says. "Sanctions will not signal an end to diplomacy," he says. "Rather, they would be an essential element of diplomacy to signal to the leaders of Iran that their continued defiance of the international community will not be tolerated."

"Iran's current course is a deep concern to us all, and the time has come for the (UN) Security Council to back international diplomacy with international sanctions," Ambassador Gregory L. Schulte said in a statement to the IAEA Board of Governors.

Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali-Asghar Soltanieh today invited the US envoy to IAEA, Gregory Schulte, to debate on Iran's nuclear activities. Addressing the IAEA Board of Governors meeting, he declared his readiness to debate with Schulte in a meeting to be attended by all board members to fully review all technical, legal, security and political aspects of Iran's nuclear activities. "Such a meeting will provide the opportunity to clarify baseless charges against Iran and prove that Tehran is a victim to discriminatory approaches and double standards. "The world should be aware that the US refers to `sanction' as a "diplomatic" way, which is similar to its unilateral military attack on Iraq launched as "multifaceted diplomacy"," he added. Soltanieh stated that referral of Iran's nuclear dossier to the United Nations Security Council was not due to deviation of its nuclear program from peaceful path, but was rather based on political reasons and quite ridiculous. The Iranian envoy said that since its establishment, the IAEA has never been undermined to such an extent, urging that before losing its remaining reputation, its members should think of way out of the current situation. Turning to the ongoing talks between Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and the European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, which is generally welcome, Soltanieh expressed his surprise over Schulte's remark about Iran and the US hostile approach in raising unfounded accusations against the country.

Soltanieh said that the agency has found no diversion in Iranian nuclear program and that the case has been forwarded to the Security Council by political influence of a certain state. He told a meeting of Board of Governors that Iranian nuclear program is in line with Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and Safeguards Agreement of NPT and there was no ground for its referral to the UN Security Council. Soltanieh said that some 2,000 man/day robust inspections have been made on Iranian nuclear sites which indicated that Iran has exercised full cooperation with the UN nuclear agency. "The results of IAEA intrusive inspections on Iranian nuclear rights has been presented to the Board of Governors several times so far," he said. On Iran's respect for Safeguards Agreement of NPT, Soltanieh said that cameras of the IAEA installed on all Iranian nuclear sites are monitoring them. "Iran is currently enriching uranium at Research and Development (R&D) level in the context of the NPT," he said. He made clear that political motivations were behind the Security Council referral of Iranian nuclear program which has undermined professional credibility of both IAEA and NPT.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy has once more said that his country supports holding talks with Iran. He added that while negotiations on Iran's nuclear issue are still underway in the West to come up with a new solution, it is better to continue talks with Iran at the same time. Quoting the French foreign minister today, the French magazine, Valeurs Actuel, added that meanwhile, Douste-Blazy indirectly warned the US that the tendency towards a conflict in the region is somehow likely. He urged the international community to keep its unanimity of views on Iran's nuclear issue. The minister warned that if someday one or two members of the UN Security Council dismiss negotiations on the issue and the tendency for conflict keeps growing it will create a major gap in the international community. He underlined the significance of unity in the West on the issue, while according to some diplomats in Vienna, discord among the five permanent members of the UNSC having veto right plus Germany (5+1 group) has become deeper. The Vienna-based diplomats believe that the talks between Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, which has been described as constructive by both sides, is the most important cause for such a difference of ideas.

The spokeswoman for EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, Christina Gallach, announced here on Wednesday that Solana's meeting with secretary of IRI Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani is delayed.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Larijani, and Solana were previously scheduled to meet on Thursday, September 14th (tomorrow), but according to Gallach, only their deputies would meet in French capital, Paris, on that day.

German Ambassador to Iran Herbert Honsowitz said that the Iranian nation deserves access to nuclear energy and that countries should acknowledge its right. His remarks came during an exclusive interview with IRNA's reporter in the provincial capital Orumiyeh on Thursday. The German ambassador said that his country acknowledges Iran's right to pursue nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. He assessed last week's talks between Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana as "positive." The ambassador further said the opportunity that has been opened to resume negotiations is significant and that negotiations should continue. He expressed hope negotiations will have a fruitful outcome. Concerning his government's view of comments about a possible military attack on Iran, he said: "We have repeatedly declared our opposition to any such attack." In response to a question as to why the European Union and United Nations were under US pressure considering Washington's wrong policies, he said that it is quite normal for powerful countries such as the US to influence world developments. "No party dismisses Iran right to access nuclear technology for peaceful use. The German government is willing to assist Iran in uranium enrichment. "However, it should be noticed that the enrichment process will be of no use to Iran either at present or in the future given that it does not need this type of energy," he added. Sowitz is visiting Orumiyeh to attend a conference dubbed "West Azerbaijan, Opportunities and Advantage of Investment."

Malaysian envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reading the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) member states statement yesterday declared NAM support for unconditional talks on Iran's nuclear issue to come up with a long-term solution.

Also, Cuban Foreign Minister Filipe Perez Roque in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, reiterated NAM's and his country's backing for Iran's peaceful nuclear program. Roque made the comment in a meeting here Wednesday night with visiting Iranian foreign minister, asking for broader ties with Tehran, as well as broader cooperation within the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Mottaki, touching on Iran's nuclear program, our country's foreign minister said, "The Iranian nation is quite determined to achieve its absolute right in that respect."

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