Brussels, 13/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - Tired of Iran's “concealment and deception” during more than two years of intense diplomatic wrangling over Teheran's nuclear programme, the EU-3 (Germany, France and the United Kingdom) decided on Thursday to take the matter to the UN Security Council in order to strengthen the authority of the International Atomic Energy Agency's resolutions (see EUROPE 9108). While confirming its pledge to resolve the matter through diplomatic means, the EU-3 will take the matter before an extraordinary meeting of the IAEA governing board for a decision on action deemed necessary. “Iran's decision to restart enrichment activity is a clear rejection of the process the E3/EU and Iran have been engaged in for over two years with the support of the international community”, the joint statement by EU-3 foreign ministers meeting in Berlin on Thursday reads. Deploring the fact that the Iranian government “now seems intent on turning its back on better relations with the international community, thereby dismissing the prospect for expanded economic, technological and political cooperation (…) which would bring tremendous benefits for Iran's young, talented and growing population”, the EU-3 asserted that “Iran continues to challenge the authority of the IAEA Board by ignoring its repeated requests and providing only partial cooperation to the IAEA”. On Friday, British Foreign Minster Jack Straw promised to consider Security Council sanctions if Iran does not come into line with IAEA requirements, while assuring that this in no way means military action.
Immediately after the announcement by the EU-3, Washington and Tokyo gave their “full support” to the initiative. Speaking through its Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, Russia, which is showing growing signs of impatience towards Teheran (Iran having shown little enthusiasm about the proposal to relocate enrichment activities to Russian soil), made it clear that it would not oppose referral of the Iranian dossier to the Security Council. On Monday, the political directors of the EU-3 Foreign Ministries and experts working under Javier Solana are to meet American, Chinese and Russian diplomats in London to prepare an exceptional meeting of the IAEA Board. The most likely date of the meeting is end January/early February. Community sources state that Europeans and Americans wish to have a couple of weeks in which to obtain “broad consensus within the international community” on how appropriate it would be to take decisive action against Iran.