Four western countries set the scene on Friday for a showdown with Iran by demanding that it freeze its uranium enrichment activities immediately.
The United States, Britain, France and Germany agreed on a form of words at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, which threaten tough action in November if Iran remains defiant.
The resolution, drafted by the three European countries, says Iran needs ”immediately to suspend all enrichment-related activities” and asks the IAEA’s director general, Mohamed El Baradei, for a full accounting of the Iranian programme before the next IAEA board meeting in November.
El Baradei will be asked for a definitive verdict on whether Iran has a covert project to build an atom bomb.
The demand for a freeze was being contested on Friday night in Vienna by countries from the non-aligned movement. While it was expected to be endorsed, the session was adjourned for the third time this week and the 35-member board was to meet on Saturday morning.
On Friday, El Baradei said the latest site to draw Washington’s suspicion — at Parchin, south of Tehran — showed no signs of nuclear-related activities.
The resolution says the November meeting, after the US presidential election, will ”decide whether or not further steps are appropriate”, meaning Iran could be reported to the United Nations Security Council for sanctions. This is the policy pursued by the US but resisted, for the moment, by the Europeans.
The US immediately denounced as a ploy Iran’s offer to extend its freeze on uranium enrichment, and Tehran accused Washington of manipulating the Vienna meeting for political reasons. Iran also threatened to take the IAEA to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Friday’s draft came after four previous attempts in Vienna this week, reflecting the acrimony involved in reaching a consensus.
While all the signs are that the two-year-old crisis is coming to a head, the draft leaves open the possibility of it dragging on. The final document says the IAEA’s board will ”remain seized of the matter”, meaning it could remain on the board’s agenda beyond November.
Earlier versions did not contain this clause.
Although the Europeans have been reluctant to go to the Security Council, there is concern that Iran has been playing for time and the longer the crisis drags on, the closer it will be to an atomic bomb.
El Baradei will visit South Korea early next month to discuss Seoul’s nuclear research after the country admitted it had enriched some uranium and separated plutonium. — Guardian Unlimited Â