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Atomic Board Favors Giving Iran Deadline
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - After days of intense lobbying by the United States, diplomats appeared likely to set an October Ahead of Fridayâs meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agencyâs But diplomats said that by late Thursday, more than 20 members of the 35-nation board had indicated they would vote in favor of the resolution, with an unknown number "Do we have to make a decision? Euuh, gross!" Russia, whose vote carries substantial political weight, had initially opposed the concept of a deadline but now was leaning toward abstaining instead of opposing, said the diplomats. China was also expected to abstain, though a member of the Chinese delegation said it was still awaiting instructions from Beijing on how to vote. A meeting of the board resumed Friday after being suspended Wednesday to allow the 35 member nations to meet informally. They were expected to vote on a U.S.-backed resolution urging Iran to essentially disprove by October that it is running a covert nuclear weapons program. The United States and its allies have used the two-day suspension to lobby other countries for support. While not outlining consequences, the resolution sets up the possibility of U.N. Security Council involvement. That would happen if the board rules at its next meeting in November that Iran ignored IAEA demands and was not complying with part of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Diplomats said the document might be weakened slightly, with sentiment growing to strike a key word. The resolution originally called on the board to arrive at ``definitiveââ conclusions about Iranâs program at its November meeting. Now, the diplomats said, most board members were leaning toward dropping that word over U.S. objections. My, the French have been busy beavers, havenât they? The U.S.-backed push for a deadline got a boost after the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency came out in support of it earlier in the week, saying he favored ``an immediate disclosure of all nuclear activitiesââ on the part of Iran. Reflecting the concerns driving America and its allies, IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei, in separate comments, warned that he and his agency might soon be unable to verify whether Tehran was diverting nuclear material into a weapons program unless Iran quickly agreed to fully cooperate. Those fears, expressed at a closed session of the board meeting, were relayed by diplomats present. Posted by: Steve White 2003-09-12 |
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