EU Slows Down Drive to Refer Iran to U.N.

[Eugene]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5294825,00.html

EU Slows Down Drive to Refer Iran to U.N.


Thursday September 22, 2005 10:46 AM

AP Photo VIE120

By GEORGE JAHN

Associated Press Writer

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The European Union has backed away from a
direct push to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council and is now
only implicitly threatening Tehran with such action, according to a
document obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.

The document - a draft resolution drawn up for the current meeting of
the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board - now says
only that suspicions over Iran's nuclear program are "within the
competence of the Security Council." A previous draft had called for
reporting of Tehran to the U.N. top decision-making body.

The decision to tone down the text and indirectly delay the issue to
a later board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency
instead of demanding a vote on referral this week appeared driven by
concerns about strong opposition. More than a dozen of the 35 IAEA
board member nations meeting in Vienna - including Security Council
members Russia and China - are against the idea.

The new draft, however, was still expected to run into strong
opposition because of its strong language.

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[plasticsundance]

1. Two things to note

How was the bases of the decision related to the overtures recently made by N. Korea.

Second, it appears China's and Russia's influence is growing on the geopolitical and geostrategical stage. This is worthy to note, since Russia sells nuclear material to Iran, and both China and Russia sell military weapons to Iran.

This is a poke in the eye at the US and its planned global hegemony.