It is so obvious that Iran is after a bomb that we are having no trouble getting other countries at the UN to sign on. When you add Iran to Pakistan to NK, I would not want to live in or near DC.
September 13, 2003
U.N. Sets Deadline for Iran on Nuclear Arms
By REUTERS
VIENNA, Sept. 12 — The United Nations nuclear watchdog today gave Iran an Oct. 31 deadline to prove it had no secret atomic weapons program, prompting Tehran to threaten a "deep review" of its cooperation with the agency.
After intense pressure from the United States for action against Iran, the 35-nation governing board of the watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, passed a resolution setting the deadline. Iran's delegation stormed out of the meeting in protest, accusing Washington of having new invasion plans after Iraq.
The toughly worded resolution gives Iran one last chance to prove it has been complying with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The United States says Iran has violated the treaty in its effort to develop atomic weapons secretly. Iran, which denies the allegation, could face economic penalties if reported to the Security Council for breach of its obligations under the treaty.
"We will have no choice but to have a deep review of our existing level and extent of engagement with the agency vis-à-vis this resolution," said Iran's ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna, Ali Akbar Salehi, in a written statement.
The American ambassador to the agency, Kenneth Brill, warned that any decision by the Iranians to suspend the inspection process would be interpreted as an admission that they were pursuing atomic weapons.
The chief of the atomic agency, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, said inspectors would be heading to Iran within the next few weeks.
nytimes.com |
