UNITED NATIONS - Top diplomats from the world's major powers will try to
reach agreement Saturday on new sanctions against Iran for refusing to suspend
uranium enrichment. A US official predicted the session would lead to a
"substantive resolution."
A general view shows the Bushehr nuclear power plant in the
Iranian Persian Gulf port of Bushehr, 1,200 Kms south of Tehran, in June
2006. [AFP]
|
Foreign ministry political
directors from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany
held a two-hour conference call Thursday to discuss what to include in the
resolution - and they were scheduled to hold another conference call Saturday
morning.
The six countries indicate they want to move quickly to strengthen sanctions
following last week's report by the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran
was expanding enrichment instead of suspending it.
Iran's refusal to freeze all its enrichment-related activities prompted the
Security Council on Dec. 23 to impose sanctions targeting its nuclear and
missile programs. The council gave Tehran 60 days to halt enrichment or face
additional nonmilitary measures.
"This will be a substantive resolution. This will be something that will ...
increase diplomatic pressure on Iran, on the Iranian regime," US State
Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said Friday.
"They have gotten agreement on the major elements," he said. "We do expect
that the remaining issues in terms of the main components of the resolution will
be resolved on Saturday and that the drafting can begin."
If agreement is reached, the UN Security Council will start drafting a new
resolution next week.
South Africa's UN Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, the current council president,
said he understands that the 10 non-permanent council members would have input
in the new resolution - unlike the Dec. 23 measure which was drafted by the six
nations and presented to the rest of the council to vote on.
A British Foreign Office spokesman, speaking on
condition of anonymity in line with government policy, refused Friday to discuss
details of Thursday's conversation but acknowledged there were still differences
between nations.
Britain's UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said recently that the new
resolution would be looking at an "incremental" strengthening of sanctions - and
the word "incremental" has been repeated by other council diplomats.
Some diplomats said the new measure may include travel bans, expand the list
of technology and materials countries are banned from making available to Iran,
and create stiffer economic sanctions including a ban on export guarantees to
Iran, among other options.
The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are
private.
The French Foreign Ministry, in a statement Friday, said the phone
conversation of political directors showed that the six countries were "fully in
agreement on the framework of the next step" at the Security Council.
The ministry said the current sanctions could be strengthened "for example,
by designating new people or new entities hit by restrictive measures ... and
through complementary measures." It didn't elaborate on what those measures
might be.
UN diplomats said the six countries all believe the initial sanctions have
had a positive effect on Tehran.
Iran insists its nuclear program is aimed solely at producing nuclear energy
- not nuclear weapons - and it has adamantly refused to halt it.
German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger called the talks
"constructive and productive" and said they are being conducted "with great
intensity."
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak was
quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying "the main thing is that all sides
are united in their wish to find a political resolution of the
problems."