 |
|
Baradei
told the UN Security Council that Tehran had failed to heed calls
to stop enriching uranium.
|
Iran
played down the IAEA report, saying it was generally acceptable.
"The
report does not contain negative points," Saeedi said.
"It
shows that the agency still has the capacity to review Iran's nuclear
case," he said, adding that Iran was ready to answer the
remaining issues.
The
report said Iran had accelerated efforts to purify uranium in the last
month and sidestepped questions designed to check if its nuclear
program was purely civilian.
It
said that the nuclear watchdog had taken samples on April 13 at Iran's
enrichment facility in Natanz, "which tend to confirm as of that
date the enrichment level (of 3.6 percent) declared by Iran."
It
said that during March, Iran completed a 164-machine cascade --
referring to centrifuges arranged in series in order to enrich uranium
-- and that another two similar cascades were under construction at
Natanz.
Tehran
announced early April it had produced low-grade enriched uranium
suitable for use in nuclear power station.
The
Bush administration has championed an international campaign against
Tehran over its nuclear program, arguing that the program was a cover
for developing nuclear weapons.
But
Iran insisted that its program was only to generate peaceful nuclear
power.
UN
Resolution
 |
|
"We
do think there's a sense of urgency here and we hope that we can get
council action just as soon as possible," said Bolton.
|
US
Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said it is high time the
UN Security Council adopted a resolution against Tehran.
"We
are concerned about the continued work that Iran is doing to acquire
nuclear weapons capability," he said.
He
continued: "We
do think there's a sense of urgency here and we hope that we can get
council action just as soon as possible.
"We
believe the next step is a Chapter 7 resolution making mandatory the
existing IAEA resolutions."
Britain's
Ambassador to the world body Emyr Jones Parry said he would submit a draft that would not threaten
sanctions or military force but make council demands binding under
international law.
Iran
ignored a March council call for it to suspend uranium enrichment, a
process used for bombs as well as electricity.
Hours
before the IAEA report was circulated, Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad said Iran would disregard any UN measure to rein in its
nuclear project.
Western
diplomats said they planned to introduce a Security Council resolution
by mid-week that would require Tehran to curb its nuclear ambitions.
Foreign
ministers of the UN Security Council five permanent members and
Germany planned to meet in New York on May 9 to discuss the crisis.
The
United States, backed by Britain and France, favors limited sanctions
if Iran refuses to shelve enrichment quickly.
But
Russia and China, the other two veto-holding permanent Security
Council members, have so far opposed such moves.
US
press reports, however, did not rule out the military option.
US
veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said in a new report
earlier this month that the US administration is looking
"seriously" at striking Iran with tactical nuclear weapons.
US
President George W. Bush threatened in an interview with the Israeli
television in August 13 he could consider using force to press Iran to
give up its nuclear program.
