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| International-UN-NGOs |
| IAEA to decide resolution on Iran today |
| 2005-09-24 |
| Britain, on behalf of the European Union, submitted a resolution to the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors during a tense late-night session Friday, finding Iran to be in noncompliance with its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty safeguards agreement. The board will reconvene at 3 p.m. Saturday to make a decision, said IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming. Tensions are running high among IAEA members as the European Union seems determined to pass the resolution despite fierce resistance from China, Russia and member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as increasing pressure from Iran. There are fears this course of action could split the normally consensus-based body, as about one-third of the 35 members oppose the resolution. NAM countries asked to push back the meeting until Oct. 3 to study the resolution in detail, but they were overruled by the European Union. A diplomat close to the IAEA said the atmosphere was "emotional and angry" and several delegations and individuals voiced their protest. The resolution calls on IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei to "continue his efforts to implement this and previous resolutions and to report again, including any further developments on the issues raised in his report of 2nd September to the Board which will address the timing and content of the report required. ..." This implicit threat of referral to the U.N. Security Council differs from earlier versions, in which the European Union and other like-minded member states demanded Iran's referral to the Security Council for "failures and breaches" of its NPT obligations. The resolution also uses strong language to describe Iran's failures to comply with earlier resolutions and says Iran is in "noncompliance" with its safeguards agreement. According to IAEA statutes, this wording requires the member state in question to be reported to the Security Council. Iran is threatening to withdraw from voluntary, confidence-building measures like the suspension of uranium conversion activities or its implementation of the NPT Additional Protocol if it is referred to the Security Council. According to diplomatic sources, Iran exerted pressure on IAEA board members, saying it would raise the price of oil, should it fail to gain support for its cause. Iran has hidden its nuclear program from the IAEA for 18 years. While Tehran maintains its program was only for energy-generating purposes, the Western nations fear Iran is working on a secret nuclear weapons program. The IAEA is still "not yet in a position to clarify some important outstanding issues," the draft of the resolution said, adding that Iran's "full transparence is indispensable and overdue," reminding the members of Iran's shaky record of cooperation with the nuclear watchdog. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 "IFF AMERICA DOES NOT ATTACK, AMERICA WILL BE ATTACKED" - if America does not invade nuclearizing Iran and North Korea, etal., Radical Spetzlam and aligned Fascistas, Rightistas, Centristas, Capitalistas, Federalistas and Americanistas, etc. will attack the USA wid new nuke/WMD-capable 9-11's. Either way the Fed, AND ONLY THE FED, is forced andor induced to expand and militarize, centralize, bureaucratize, welfarize, and subsidize. * SOZILIST AMERIKAN PHRASE OF WEEK - Left> the USA vv the Fed, and only the Fed, MUST MAINTAIN A "PERMANENT STATE OF READINESS/SECURITY" for everything and anything from Dubya-caused new Hurricanes to Terror events. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-09-24 01:28 |
| #1 Resolved that we ask for tea or coffee over breakfast. Passed. Next |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-09-24 00:53 |