UN Council struggles to agree on response to Iran

UNITED NATIONS - The five veto-holding powers of the UN Security Council on Monday struggled to clear the way for a council statement on reining in Iran's nuclear programmes, but agreement appeared elusive.

The United States, Britain and France hope the full council will consider a statement later this week as its response to a report on Iran's programmes by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency delivered last Wednesday.

The 35-nation IAEA board asked Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment-related activities, which the West believes is a cover for bomb making, and asked Iran to co-operate with IAEA inspectors.

Russia and China have been uneasy about Security Council involvement, with Moscow's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hoping for more talks with Iran soon.

After a third round of consultations among the five permanent council members, Britain's UN ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said: "I will aim to have this put to all my colleagues in the council this week."

Jones Parry said a "measure of consensus" among the five was necessary before a text went to the full council but they might deliver a text without having agreed on each word.

"Consultations are going on. We will meet again tomorrow," said US Ambassador John Bolton, who chaired the meetings. He refused to give to give any details or predict when agreement would be reached.

Lavrov, in a newspaper interview, urged the United States and its European allies not to turn their back on the IAEA as a tool to resolve the dispute, saying there was no agreed strategy for action in the Security Council.

The Western powers would like a statement that would call on Iran to stop all uranium enrichment-related activities and for the IAEA to report back to the Security Council in a short period of time. Britain, diplomats, said, had suggested 14 days but any date is likely to be closer to 30 days.

"We want to send a message to Iran to support what the (IAEA) governing board has asked it," Jones Parry said.

He said they also wanted to urge Iran to comply with what board had asked and to wanted the IAEA board to report back on how Iran had responded. "We would like to move his dossier forward as soon as possible," he added.

Iran said on Monday it was still interested in an offer by Russia to enrich uranium for Iran on Russian soil. But Lavrov said he was "extremely disappointed" in Iran's mixed signals.

"Iran is absolutely no help to those who want to find peaceful ways to solve this problem," he told Russia's RIA news agency.

Jones Parry said there was "no disagreement on the fundamentals, adding: "We all know what our aim is, to avoid proliferation," he said.

"We are discussing the best means by which we can apply pressure to encourage Iran to meet what the board has asked and demonstrate our support for the board," Jones Parry added.

After an initial council statement is agreed, the next step would be more difficult; normally a tougher resolution would follow demanding Iran comply and hinting at consequences.

But the West does not have Russia or China's agreement on threatening or imposing sanctions.

- REUTERS