Iran limits cooperation with nuclear agency due to 'illegal' resolution against it
Iran-UN, Politics, 3/26/2007

Iranian Member of Parliament from Tabriz, Mrs Eshrat Shayegh, said today that the anti-Iran resolution of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) just passed is unlawful and discriminatory.

Shayegh said that the resolution will never have any impact on Iranian national resolve to make use of nuclear energy.

"The UNSC resolutions will be affirmed by all nations and governments, if they are based on justice and away from political objectives for the global peace and preventing military quarrels," she said.

"The resolution has been issued under the pressure of the US, and not only runs counter to the peace and stability in the Middle East, but also, will undermine the credibility of the world body and stir crisis in the region." The MP regretted that the UNSC has acted in a way that the Iranian people always suspected seeing the council as an "instrument in the hand of bullying powers, in particular the US, to materialize their political objectives and unfortunately it is not working to guarantee international peace." Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in an interview with Spiegel recalled the United Nations Security Council Resolution 50 years ago in which the world body termed nationalization of Iranian oil industry as "detrimental to international peace and security." He compared the UN action 50 years ago to the resolution 1747 both aiming to deprive Iran of legitimate rights.

Iranian officials said the resolution was political in nature and not related to the nuclear issue, in full. Perhaps confirming this view, US officials speaking about the resolution focused on Iran's regional role, rather than issues of any nuclear treaty breaches by Iran.

According to Under Secretary for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns, the inclusion of the provision prohibiting Iran from providing weapons to any individual or organization and calling on nations to exercise "vigilance and restraint" in exporting arms to Iran was a primary objective for the United States during negotiations on the measure.

The United States sees Iran "as a problem not just in the nuclear sphere but also as a purveyor of arms to major Middle East terrorist groups and ... of money to them," Burns said.

While saying that the resolution represents a tightening of international pressure on Iran for its failure to suspend its uranium enrichment program, he said "We see (Iran) trying to become the most dominant military state in the region. They're using their arms supply relationship with Hizbullah and Hamas, with the PFLPGC (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command), with Palestinian Islamic Jihad ... to really negative ends and negative results," he continued.

The resolution also recommends nations and international financial institutions refrain from providing financial assistance, grants or concessional loans to Iran, except for humanitarian and development purposes. This provision "opens up the door" for future action on the issue of export credits, the under secretary said.

"We've already seen Italy, France, Germany, and Japan significantly reduce their export credits to Iran over the last four to five months," Burns noted.

Mottaki had said that the resolution just adopted about Iran's peaceful nuclear program, while those who voted in favor of it did not even bother to listen to Iran's positions and explanations, has a number of characteristics which he would like to underline. Mottaki made the remark at the United Nations Security Council meeting in New York on Saturday night, adding that he is willing to stress the following for the record and the awakened global public opinion: "1. This Resolution, by establishing sanctions, is punishing a country, which according to the IAEA has never diverted its nuclear program. This Resolution punishes a country, which has been a committed member of the NPT, with all its nuclear facilities under the monitoring of the IAEA inspectors and their camera.

"This Resolution imposes sanctions on a country that has fulfilled all its commitments to the NPT and IAEA safeguards, and demands nothing more than its inalienable rights under the NPT. Is there any better way to undermine an important multilateral instrument which deals directly with international peace and security? Isn't this action by the Security Council not, in and of itself, a grave threat to international peace and security? "2. The current Resolution has clearly departed from the stated claims of its sponsors and through targeting my country's defense, economic and educational institutions, is pursuing objectives far beyond Iran's peaceful nuclear program. The sanctions in this Resolution are clearly targeting an independent, proud and tireless nation with thousands of years of culture and civilization. What can harming of hundreds of thousands of depositors in Bank Sepah, with 80 year history in Iran, mean other than confronting ordinary Iranians? "3. This Resolution is adopted at a time when not only all rational proposals and initiatives to return to a negotiated solution have been neglected, but also certain countries have not even allowed the presentation of such proposals. Iran has always been ready for time-bound and unconditional negotiations aimed at finding a mutually acceptable solution. Iran has done its best to achieve this objective and has presented numerous proposals to provide necessary assurances about the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.

"In the last several weeks, other proposals were advanced, each of which could have provided an opportunity to break the current stalemate and lead to a rational and just resolution. The only interpretation that can be drawn from the rush to adopt this resolution and prevent negotiations is that ulterior motives of the sponsors and the lack of political will to find solutions.

"4. Finally, the current Resolution is adopted against Iran's peaceful nuclear program at a time when major nuclear powers continue to flout the persistent demand of the international community for nuclear disarmament and instead jeopardize international peace and security by developing new generations of these weapons and by threatening to use them," said Mottaki.

Mottaki said that to achieve the politically motivated and unlawful goal of depriving Iran of its inalienable right to nuclear technology, attempts have been made to manufacture evidence.

Mottaki made the remark at the United Nations Security meeting in New York on Saturday night. He pointed to a recent report in an American newspaper that most US intelligence shared with the UN nuclear watchdog has proved inaccurate and none has led to significant discoveries inside Iran.

The minister said that the same article also quotes a senior IAEA official as saying "since 2002, pretty much all the intelligence that has come to us has proved to be wrong." Mottaki noted that however, in order to enable the IAEA to reach this conclusion, Iran had to implement transparency measures outside all IAEA safeguard agreements and protocols and allow the IAEA inspectors over 20 visits to its sensitive military sites which had no connection whatsoever to its nuclear program.

"Can any member of this Council accept to do likewise? Are permanent members of UNSC even prepared to simply inform the world community of the number of centrifuges they own?" he asked.

Mottaki said, that in fact, over the last four years, the IAEA has conducted more than 2,100 person-days of scrutiny of all Iranian nuclear facilities.

"All reports by the IAEA since November 2003 have been indicative of the peaceful nature of Iranian nuclear program. The Agency confirmed in 2003, and maintained since then that "to date, there is no evidence that the previously undeclared nuclear material and activities were related to a nuclear weapons program." Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, underlined his readiness for dialogue with Iran aimed at a negotiated solution.

"The international community sent a very clear signal concerning Iran's nuclear program. This third resolution, which was adopted by the UN Security Council, states clearly that Iran must comply with its international obligations," said Solana in a statement.

"The European Union wants a better and closer relationship with Iran," said the EU foreign policy chief.

"Iran is a country of huge potential and we are natural partners.

We are committed to seeking a negotiated solution to the nuclear question. That is why, alongside the UNSC Resolution, I have been asked by the countries that have been dealing most closely with Iran to make contact with Dr. Ali Larijani in order to see whether we can find a route to negotiations. The door to negotiations is open; I hope we can together find a way to go through it," he added.

Iranian Government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham announced yesterday that the government had decided to reconsider cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Calling Saturday's UN Security Council Resolution (1747) against Iran "illegal," Elham noted, "The Council of Ministers met Sunday evening under chairmanship of President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad to discuss a recent law passed by the Majlis (27.12.06) obliging the government to review its cooperation with IAEA. The cabinet meeting decided that Iran Atomic Energy Organization should halt part of its cooperation with IAEA until Iran's case returns to IAEA from the Security Council and the situation gets back to normal." He added that IAEO had agreed in line with safeguards agreement with IAEA to increase cooperation with the agency "but this cooperation will stop until Iran's case returns to IAEA from the Security Council and the situation gets back to normal." The safeguards agreement, he added, obliged Iran to inform the IAEA of all details of any plans and decision-making for creation of any facilities and execution of programs related to its nuclear issue. This is while, according to NPT, the member states are duty bound to inform the IAEA of their nuclear programs just six months before commissioning.

Iran's president, who according to Iran was denied a visa to the US so he can address the United Nations Security Council on this issue said Sunday evening that Iran will definitely continue its peaceful and legal nuclear activities regardless of a UN Security Council resolution issued Saturday in this regard.

President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad said the adoption of this resolution "is a fresh act along other spiteful and vicious movements of certain powers since the victory of the great Islamic revolution."

Previous Stories:
  Iran: Intransigence of West has fixes the nuclear position   (3/13/2007)
  Saeedi: Iran-IAEA stop cooperation on regional projects   (3/13/2007)
  Western position on Iran described as illogical   (3/6/2007)

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