UNITED NATIONS: Security Council says it will examine the IAEA's report on Iran's nuclear programme

The United Nations Security Council said on Thursday (February 22, 2007) that it will examine the International Atomic Energy Agency's report, which says Iran has failed to halt nuclear enrichment of uranium, before making any plans for consultations. Security Council President and Slovak Ambassador to the U.N. Peter Burian said that a technical problem prevented the Council from getting the report early, but that it was now in possession of it and that it would be examined. "I just received from the representative of the IAEA Mr. Zlauvinen, the report of the IAEA on Iran's nuclear programme. He apologized for technical difficulties in delivering the report to the Security Council. In time when it was delivered to the board or governors and we now have it in six official languages and it will be distributed shortly to the members of the Security Council," said Burian. The IAEA reported that Iran had failed to meet a February 21 deadline to suspend the enrichment of uranium, exposing Tehran to possible new sanctions over concerns it hopes to produce an atomic bomb. The report claims that Iran had installed two cascades, or networks, of 164 centrifuges in its underground Natanz enrichment plant with another two cascades close to completion. This amounted to an effort to escalate research-level enrichment of nuclear fuel into "industrial scale" production. Burian said that the Council would not make any moves towards consultations on the Iranian matter until the report was fully examined by all 15 members. "It's difficult to say because we just received the letter, the report. We'll decide based on the wishes and the interest of the rest of the Council how quickly we should convene consultations on this matter," said Burian . By ignoring the deadline, Tehran reaffirmed its rejection of a mid-2006 offer by six world powers of talks on trade benefits provided it halted enrichment, a process that can yield nuclear power plant fuel or bombs. The Security Council imposed sanctions on Iran in a December 23 resolution that banned transfers of atomic technology and know-how to Iran. The resolution authorizes the council to take further measures if Iran flouted the deadline.

ITN Source | February 23, 2007

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