VIENNA, September 22, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The European Union backtracked Thursday, September 22, on a drive to immediately refer the Iranian nuclear to the UN Security Council, but Moscow remained unsatisfied.

A new draft resolution to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by the EU's big three omitted any explicit threat that Iran would be immediately referred to the Security Council but implied that the IAEA board could choose to refer the matter to the Council in the future, reported Reuters.

It said the "history of concealment of Iran's nuclear activities" and "absence of confidence" that its program was solely for peaceful purposes gave "rise to questions that are within the competence of the Security Council".

The new draft charges that Iran had been in "non-compliance" with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which normally requires the IAEA board to notify the Council.

Earlier this week, France, Britain and Germany had circulated a US-backed draft resolution calling on the IAEA's governing board to report Iran's nuclear program to the Security Council.

But with at least a dozen of the 35 members of the board opposed to the text -- including heavyweight China and Russia -- the EU cut out the key demand from the revised draft.

Iran had threatened to limit UN inspections and withdraw from the NPT if its nuclear file was sent to the UN Security Council.

Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Mohammad Mehdi Akhunzadeh, welcomed the development and invited IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei to Tehran to discuss various outstanding issues and how to improve cooperation with the agency.

An IAEA spokeswoman declined to comment when asked if ElBaradei would accept. He last visited Tehran in April 2004.

EU diplomats said they hoped to get unanimous support for what they called a very tough and fair draft resolution.

US Ambassador to the IAEA Gregory Schulte claimed that "a solid and growing majority of the IAEA board now also agrees on the need to report Iran to the UN Security Council."

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said there was room for dialogue.

He called for a resumption of EU-Iran talks that collapsed after two years when Tehran resumed uranium processing work at a plant in Isfahan last month.

Russia, however, rejected the new draft, saying it is too tough on Tehran, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"It is a plane that does not fly," Russian ambassador Grigory Berdennikov told AFP.

A Western diplomat said that at a meeting with the resolution's drafters the Russians had crossed out clauses that cited Iran for non-compliance with international nuclear safeguards and opened the door to eventual referral to the UN Security Council, even if the Council was not specifically mentioned.

The new draft resolution had been "a tactical gesture to show flexibility. It didn't work," the diplomat said.

Berdennikov huddled with Iranian officials for talks shortly after rejecting the draft but neither side would comment to an AFP reporter about the meeting.

EU diplomats say Russia's support is crucial to achieving their aim of getting consensus on an IAEA resolution.

A European diplomat told Reuters said there was no reaction from China yet, though he expected Beijing's view would be similar to Moscow's.

Russia, China and non-aligned nations back Tehran's right to a peaceful nuclear program and fear that Security Council, the United Nations' highest body, action could escalate into calls for trade sanctions that would draw sharp retaliation from oil-rich Iran.

If there is no unanimity for the new draft resolution, the European trio were ready to demand a vote on the previous draft, diplomats told AFP.

A second Western diplomat said the Europeans are sure to do this, although other diplomats said the EU-3 were hoping that negotiations could still succeed on the more mild, second draft.

Diplomats agreed the West would win a vote on the first resolution but warned that a lack of consensus would not have a strong impact on Iran and would be a prelude to paralysis at the Security Council.

Iran and the European Union embarked in December on negotiations towards a long-term agreement to give Tehran trade, technology and security aid and guarantees in return for it taking steps to reassure the international community that its nuclear program is strictly peaceful.

The US accuses Iran of having a secret program to manufacture nuclear weapons.

Iran staunchly denies the allegations and maintains that its nuclear program is only designed to produce electricity.