http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/03/ ... index.html

U.N. urged to act on Iran
Tehran: U.S. 'susceptible to harm and pain'

Wednesday, March 8, 2006; Posted: 8:57 a.m. EST (13:57 GMT)

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei waits for the start of the Wednesday's 35-nation board meeting in Vienna.
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The United States and Europe have called on the U.N. Security Council to act on Iran's atomic program at a meeting of the world body's nuclear watchdog.

Meanwhile, Iran appeared to threaten the United States with "harm and pain" if the Security Council takes up the nuclear issue.

Both sides were sticking to their positions Wednesday as the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was meeting in Vienna to discuss the crisis.

"The time has now come for the Security Council to act," said Gregory Schulte, the U.S. delegate to the IAEA. "Iran has still not come clean."

Schulte said there were "mounting international concerns" about Iran's nuclear intentions following its decisions to curtail IAEA inspections and expand its uranium enrichment program.

The U.S. delegate also cited Iran's determination to develop a large-scale enrichment program that could be used to make nuclear weapons, and said Tehran held documents showing how to form fissile material into warheads.

"IAEA inspectors have no doubt this information was expressly intended for the fabrication of nuclear weapons components," The Associated Press quoted Schulte as saying.

Separately, the EU3 -- France, Germany and Britain -- warned that the information available about Iran's nuclear program could represent only "the tip of the iceberg."

"And ... it was a part of the iceberg, below the water that ... did (for) the Titanic," according to a draft statement by the three European countries, AP said.

The statement also spoke of "indicators of a possible military dimension to Iran's (nuclear) program (as) a legitimate source of intense concern."

"We believe that the time has ... come for the U.N. Security Council to reinforce the authority" of the IAEA and its board, AP quoted the statement as saying.

IAEA chief Mohammed ElBaradei presented his long-awaited report on Iran's nuclear program to the watchdog's board of governors on Wednesday.

The matter now will be handed over to the U.N. Security Council under a February 4 IAEA vote spearheaded by Washington and the EU3.

A senior EU diplomat told Reuters on Wednesday the Security Council was expected to meet next week to discuss Iran.

The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the council would work quickly to issue a "presidential statement" calling on Iran to suspend all atomic fuel enrichment activity and fully cooperate with U.N. investigations into the nature of its nuclear ambitions, Reuters said.

If Iran defies the call, the council could repeat its message with a possible threat of action if it were unheeded.

A U.S. statement to the IAEA meeting also said the Security Council was likely to call on Iran to halt nuclear research soon or risk "consequences," Reuters reported.

The Security Council agreed last month not to take any action until it saw ElBaradei's report.

His 12-page dossier states that the Iranians are testing 20 centrifuges and enriching uranium in 10 others, well shy of the thousands that would be required to produce enough fuel for nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, Iran's representative at the IAEA meeting, Javad Vaeedi, blamed the United States for closing the door on diplomatic solutions to the situation.

"In this stage we are trying to avoid confrontation," said Vaeedi, the deputy head for international affairs of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

"On the other hand, the United States may have the power to cause harm and pain but it is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if the United States wishes to choose that path let the ball roll."

'No new Russian proposal'
On Tuesday, the United States and Russia announced their solidarity in finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis and flatly denied reports that Moscow had offered a new proposal to let Iran enrich a small amount of uranium on its soil.

"The Russians did not tell us of any new proposal they made to the Iranians," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters after meeting with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Washington.

She said the United States has not changed its position "that enrichment and reprocessing on Iranian soil is not acceptable because of the proliferation risk."

Iran insists that its nuclear ambitions are peaceful. The United States leads a chorus of nations expressing concern that Tehran could have its eye on developing nuclear weapons.

ElBaradei appeared to refer to the new proposal Monday when he said a deal was in the works that could save Iran from facing sanctions in the U.N. Security Council, diplomats said.

When reports of a tweaked proposal surfaced, the United States and Russia quickly joined forces to deny them.

Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said Russia's initial proposal to enrich uranium in Russia and then ship it to Iran was still on the table.

Russia's original plan would require that Iran halt all nuclear enrichment within its borders and honor a moratorium on testing. That doesn't sit well in Tehran, which has threatened to step up its operations if sanctions are imposed.

Asked about possible sanctions, Rice said to wait until the matter is reported to the Security Council, "and then we will see what is necessary to do." She also said, "There is still time, of course, for the Iranians to react."

Lavrov, too, was vague about the possibility of sanctions, saying, "We will have to consider each situation at its merits."

Pressed on whether Russia would support sanctions, Lavrov seemed to grow weary of the question. "Have you seen a proposal for any sanctions? This is a hypothetical question," he answered before saying, "Thank you," and walking away.