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Vienna, November 28, 2009 – The UN nuclear watchdog's
governing body has voted overwhelmingly to censure Iran for developing a
uranium enrichment site in secret, and has demanded it freeze the
project immediately.
The resolution, the first against Tehran in almost four years, was
passed by a 25-3 margin, with six abstentions, by the 35-nation
governing board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in
Vienna.
"This is a signal that patience is running out. We can't continue talks
for talks' sake," Glyn Davies, the US envoy to the IAEA, said.
"We can't have round after round of fruitless negotiations, circular
negotiations that don't get us where we want to get."
The White House said after the vote to censure Iran that Tehran must
soon convince other countries that its nuclear programme is not geared
towards building a weapon.
"Our patience and that of the international community is limited, and
time is running out," Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said.
"If Iran refuses to meet its obligations, then it will be responsible
for its own growing isolation and the consequences."
The move received rare Russian and Chinese backing but it was unclear
whether the measure would translate into support from Beijing and Moscow
for further sanctions that Western leaders may push for if Iran does not
begin to dispel concerns about its nuclear ambitions soon.
Most developing nations on the IAEA board opposed the resolution, which
was sponsored by Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and the United
States, saying it would be provocative and counterproductive.
'Serious concern'
The resolution criticizes Iran for defying a UN Security Council ban on
uranium enrichment and rebukes it for secretly building a uranium
enrichment facility near the city of Qom.
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, said that the resolution
was "hasty and undue" step.
"This resolution will of course damage the existing environment of
co-operation with the IAEA," he said.
Alireza Ronaghi, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tehran, said that the
resolution comes as Iran's government faces pressure from its supporters
inside the country to be forthcoming in its negotiations with the world
powers over exchanging enriched uranium.
Ronaghi was referring to an IAEA-brokered plan to provide Iran with fuel
for a nuclear medicine reactor in exchange for enriched uranium that
could be turned into bomb material if further refined.
"Iran's economy has been under pressure for almost four years, since
President Ahmadinejad took power and immediately adopted some very
aggressive policies in Iran's nuclear programme," Ronaghi said.
"It is not going to be easy to handle any more sanctions from now on.
I'm sure it is going to be a very serious concern among members of
Iran's ruling elite."
Secret site
Massoumeh Torfeh, a research associate at the School of Oriental and
African Studies in London said that while Iran will not like the fact
that China and Russia backed the resolution, it was important not to put
"too much value on that".
"I think at this stage, when it is just a matter of condemnation and a
freezing of action inside Iran near the Qom plant, I think it is easy
for Russia and China to agree. When you come to sanctions, it will have
them reverting back to the previous position," she said.
Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the University of Tehran's Institute of
North American and European studies, said that Iranian diplomatic offers
made to the P5+1 - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council
and Germany - had been ignored by Western countries.
"The Iranians a few weeks ago had negotiations with the five plus one
that went somewhat well. Then the Iranians themselves had their own
initiative - an offer to purchase uranium enriched at 20 per cent,
instead of producing it itself. Then the West began making unreasonable
demands.
"The Iranians feel that there was an opportunity for co-operation but
that the Western countries chose not to pursue that path."
Supporters of the resolution were provoked by the revelation in
September of the site, which Iran had been building for at least two
years.
The discovery of the site has fuelled suspicions among Western states
that Iran could be building other covert facilities dedicated to the
making of nuclear weapons.
The resolution notes that the IAEA cannot confirm that Tehran's nuclear
programme is exclusively geared towards peaceful uses and expresses
"serious concern" that Iran may be hiding a military nuclear program.
On Thursday, Mohamed ElBaradei, the director-general of the IAEA, said
an investigation into whether Iran was seeking to build nuclear weapons
had reached "a dead end".
ElBaradei expressed dismay over Iran's failure to notify the IAEA of the
site near Qom and said that Tehran's initial failure to notify the
agency of the existence of the plant "was inconsistent with its
obligations".
Tehran says the bunkered Qom site, which is to start operating in 2011,
is a backup for its much larger Natanz enrichment centre in case it is
bombed by foes such as Israel.
Western nuclear analysts say Qom's low capacity makes it unsuitable for
any purpose but to enrich smaller quantities of uranium suitable for a
bomb.
Enrichment plants generally need tens of thousands of centrifuges to
feed a nuclear power plant.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies, November 27, 2009
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