Nuclear: Iran Threaten Treaty Pullout if Case Goes To Security Council

[ECH1969]

Iran is threatening to pull out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and resume uranium enrichment if the question of its nuclear programme is referred to the United Nations Security Council. The news was given by the chief negotiator Ali Larijani in Tehran on Tuesday, as crucial board meeting of the International Atomic energy Agency(IAEA) took place in Vienna. The European Union, which has until now favoured negotiating with Tehran, is urging the IAEA to refer Iran's nuclear programme to the Security Council.

France, Britain and Germany circulated a rough draft of a resolution late Monday, urging the IAEA to report "Iran's many failures and breaches of its obligations to comply with its NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) Safeguards Agreement."

The move has the backing of the United States which has been pressing for action against what it regards as Tehran's duplicity in claiming its nuclear fuel programme is purely for peaceful civilian purposes, but refusing to permit verification of this.

The draft also demands a UN Security Council mandate to urge Iran to grant the IAEA access to locations beyond Iran's legal obligations and to "re-establish full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, " which could allow it to build a nuclear bomb.

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