Haaretz
Shvat 7, 5766
VIENNA
- The United Nations nuclear watchdog's governing board approved a resolution Saturday referring the Iranian
nuclear program to the UN Security Council.
The measure passed by a
vote of 27 for to three against, with five member states
abstaining.
In its resolution, the International Atomic Energy
Agency Board of Governors included an unprecedented call for nations of
the Middle East to be rid of nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, Iran
denied a report carried by the Mehr news agency that the president had
ordered the resumption of nuclear fuel work in response to Iran's case
being sent to the U.N. Security Council.
"(President Mahmoud)
Ahmadinejad has not taken any fresh measures today," said a spokesman for
the presidential office.
The spokesman added the letter carried by
Mehr was written by Ahmadinejad late last year after parliament first
passed legislation to resume uranium enrichment. He said this decree had
not been issued to Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation.
Israel's
envoy to the IAEA, Yisrael Michaeli, said the clause calling for a
WMD-free zone in the Middle East is unacceptable, especially under present
circumstances. While there is a consensus for the need to rid the region
of weapons of mass destruction, approving such a call at this time is
detrimental, Michaeli told the board.
In response to a query by
Haaretz as to whether the resolution refers to Israel's nuclear
weapons program, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the IAEA Ambassador
Gregory Schulte replied that the resolution is in reference to
Iran.
The idea of adding the clause followed disagreements among
board member states over the wording of the resolution referring Iran to
the UN Security Council over its nuclear program.
In a bid to win
the support of non-aligned member states in the UN and thus muster a large
majority for the resolution against Iran, several European states
expressed support for the initiative to include in the resolution a call
to create a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.
Inclusion of the
clause marks the first time which the UN Security Council will debate a
resolution whose language explicitly calls for cleansing the region of
nuclear weapons.
The IAEA resolution states that reporting Iran to
the Security Council is necessary in "recogni[tion] that a solution to the
Iranian issue would contribute to global nonproliferation efforts and to
realizing the objective of a Middle East free of weapons of mass
destruction, including their means of delivery."
Jerusalem opposes
diplomatic efforts, principally spearheaded by Egypt, to link the matter
of Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions with its own suspected
arsenal.
The final wording of the resolution does not refer
directly to Israel but rather speaks of a general need to demilitarize the
region from nuclear weapons.
Israel is not a member of the IAEA
Board of Governors but its representatives regularly attend deliberations
in an observer capacity.
On Friday night, the United States bowed
to pressure from Europe, Russia, and China in agreeing to add the clause
to the resolution, according to U.S. under secretary of state for
political affairs, Nicholas Burns.
Israel's traditional stand has
been that it does not oppose a nuclear-free Middle East, but that such a
move should only follow peace agreements with the Arab states. Any
discussion on such an initiative would be impractical and aims at
undermining Israel's international standing, the Israeli position
states.
Earlier, the U.S. announced it opposed the initiative,
which was promoted primarily by Egypt. The three major European powers -
Britain, France and Germany - which all support Iran's referral to the
Security Council, agreed for the initiative to be included in the
resolution.
The four powers held marathon talks all through Friday
night in order to reach an agreement on the issue before the body is asked
to vote on the resolution Saturday morning, after the vote was put off by
one day following disagreement on the resolution's language.
To
read about American lawmakers' reactions to the Iran nuclear problem, click
here.
Iran threatens retaliation
Iran has
threatened to retaliate in the face of almost certain referral to the UN
Security Council over concerns Tehran is seeking nuclear
weapons.
To read an analysis on Iran's fate, click
here.
Analysts predict that after the board
reconvenes, a majority of 25 to 30 will approve the
resolution.
Thursday's opening board session adjourned after a few
hours for backdoor negotiations which EU leaders hoped would yield the
maximum number of "yes" votes possible. Cuba, Venezuela, Syria and a few
other nations at odds with Washington remained opposed.
If
reported, Iran has threatened to lash back by halting UN spot checks of
its atomic sites as part of a world treaty to deter clandestine nuclear
bomb-making. Tehran has also warned it would pursue "industrial-scale"
enrichment of uranium fuel.
IAEA head Mohammed ElBaradei said the
dispute was "reaching a critical phase."
Although the Security
Council has the power to impose sanctions on Iran, it was not clear when
the Security Council will discuss the issue or what, if any, steps it will
take.
The council has intentionally set no date for when it will
discuss the IAEA resolution because ambassadors say they want to study the
document. Because of the delicacy of the issue, consultations will likely
take place in private.
Iranian officials are expected in Moscow on
February 16 for talks on Moscow's proposal to enrich uranium for Iran's
nuclear program on Russia soil. The offer, backed by the United States and
the European Union, is intended to make it more difficult for Tehran to
develop weapons. Iranian officials have welcomed the proposal but say it
needs work, leading to suspicions that they are stalling.