Brussels, 14/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 14 November, the Foreign Affairs Council called on Iran to respond to international concerns on the nature of its nuclear programme, and to commit “seriously” to concrete discussions, further to the publication of the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which suspects Tehran of working on atomic weapons. The Council expressed its “increasing concerns” over the Iranian nuclear programme and the “lack of progress in diplomatic efforts”. Ministers also stressed that they will continue to examine possible further restrictive sanctions against Iran and that they will return to the issue at the Foreign Affairs Council of 1 December. The high representative said that preliminary work would be necessary before new sanctions could be brought in and that a small team of the EEAS would work on these measures.
Catherine Ashton stressed the importance of “increasing the pressure, showing (Ed: Iran) that we mean business”. Before the Council, she explained that the EU had to show that the situation is “totally unacceptable”. Arriving in Brussels, the ministers also raised the issue of the Iranian situation. Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn explained that “we need to discuss sanctions again, be it at European level or at the UN”. However, further UN sanctions seem unlikely, as Russia and China are opposed. “We must make a firm decision, prepare to toughen sanctions to avoid any irreparable intervention”, said French Minister Alain Juppé.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt called for caution. “We must carefully analyse what the IAEA is actually saying. There has been a lot of hype about the report. It does not go so far”, he explained, stressing that he does not believe “that a military response is justified or necessary”. “We need to resolve this by diplomacy. It is the only way”, he said. The head of German diplomacy, Guido Westerwelle, also warned that there is no question of “taking part in a discussion on military intervention” against Tehran, because such discussions “are counter-productive and (we) reject them”. In Asselborn's view, military action would have “terrible consequences” and would benefit the Iranian regime. He described the American position, which states that the “military option is not an option”, as “very encouraging”.
In the opposite corner, British Foreign SecretaryWilliam Hague refused to rule out possible military strikes against the nuclear installations of Iran. “We have no plans for this at the moment, we are not calling for military action; nor do we recommend it. At the same time, we are saying that all options should remain on the table”, he explained. (CG/transl.fl)