But in return, Moscow and Beijing demanded that the Americans ¡ª and France
and Britain, the two other veto-wielding Security Council members ¡ª agree to let
the Iran issue rest until at least March, when the IAEA board meets again to
review the agency's investigation of Iran's nuclear program and its compliance
with board demands that it renounce uranium enrichment.
The landmark decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation
board sets the stage for future action by the top U.N. body, which has the
authority to impose economic and political sanctions.
Still, any such moves were weeks if not months away. Two permanent council
members, Russia and China, agreed to referral only on condition the council take
no action before March.
Iran says it wants to enrich only to make nuclear fuel, but concerns that it
might misuse the technology accelerated the chain of events that led to
Saturday's Security Council referral, after Tehran took IAEA seals off
enrichment equipment Jan. 10 and said it would resume small-scale activities.
The IAEA resolution expresses "serious concerns about Iran's nuclear
program." It recalls "Iran's many failures and breaches of its obligations" to
the nonproliferation treaty. And it expresses "the absence of confidence that
Iran's nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes."
It requests IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei to "report to the
Security Council" steps Iran needs to take to dispel suspicions about its
nuclear ambitions.
The resolution calls on Iran to:
* Reestablish a freeze on uranium enrichment and related activities.
* Consider whether to stop construction of a heavy water reactor that could
be the source of plutonium for weapons.
* Formally ratify an agreement allowing the IAEA greater inspecting authority
and continue honoring the agreement before it is ratified.
* Give the IAEA additional power in its investigation of Iran's nuclear
program, including "access to individuals" for interviews, as well as to
documentation on its black-market nuclear purchases, equipment that could be
used for nuclear and non-nuclear purposes and "certain military-owned workshops"
where nuclear activities might be going on.
The draft also asks IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei to "convey ... to
the Security Council" his report to the next board session in March along with
any resolution that meeting might approve.