European nations draw up Iran compromise

WORLD / Middle East

 European nations draw up Iran compromise
(AP)
Updated: 2006-05-24 08:42

Key European nations put finishing touches Tuesday on a proposal meant to
enlist the support of Russia and China for possible U.N. Security Council
sanctions against Iran should Tehran refuse to abandon uranium
enrichment, diplomats said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (front row C) sits with commanders
from the Basij Militia in Tehran May 7, 2006. The United States aims to
resolve the Iran nuclear stand-off peacefully and diplomatically,
President George W. Bush said on Tuesday. [Reuters]

The compromise, which would drop the automatic threat of military action
if Iran remains defiant is part of a proposed basket of incentives meant
to entice Iran to give up enrichment, a possible pathway to nuclear arms.
It also spells out the penalties if it does not.

France, Britain and Germany discussed the final form of the package
Tuesday ahead of submission for hoped-for approval Wednesday at a formal
meeting of the five permanent Security Council members and Germany.

If accepted, the compromise would resolve wrangling within the Security
Council since it became actively involved in March, two months after
Iran's file was referred to it by the 35-nation board of the
International Atomic Energy Agency.

Russia and China have opposed calls by America, Britain and France for a
resolution threatening sanctions and enforceable by military action.

The compromise proposal is meant to break that deadlock, said the
diplomats, who demanded anonymity in exchange for discussing the package
with The Associated Press.

If Iran remains defiant, the proposal calls for a Security Council
resolution imposing sanctions under Chapter VII, Article 41 of the U.N.
Charter. But it avoids any reference to Article 42, which is the trigger
for possible military action to enforce any such resolution.

And in an additional reassurance to Moscow and Beijing, it specifically
calls for new consultations among the five permanent Security Council
members on any further steps against Iran. That is meant to dispel past
complaints by the Russians and Chinese that once the screws on Iran are
tightened, it would automatically start a process leading to military
involvement.

The proposed language represents compromise by the United States, Britain
and France, which for weeks had called for a full Chapter VII resolution
automatically carrying the threat of military action if ignored by Iran.

Still, it was unclear whether the changes would be enough to satisfy
Russia and China at the six-nation meeting Wednesday because any such
resolution would still declare Iran a threat to international
peace,something also opposed by both Moscow and Beijing. Russia and China
also have until recently spoken out against possible sanctions on Tehran,
their economic and strategic partner.

On the eve of the meeting, Russian news agencies cited Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov as again calling for political and diplomatic means to
solve the Iranian nuclear impasse.

Still, Lavrov also said Moscow favors the approach of the three European
Union countries in handling the crisis, a possible suggestion that it was
ready to accept the modified proposal for a council resolution as part of
the package of carrots if Iran cooperated and sticks if it didn't.

The draft European proposal, shared in part with The Associated Press,
listed among possible sanctions to imposed by the council banning travel
visas for government officials; freezing assets; banning financial
transactions of key government figures and those involved in Iran's
nuclear program; an arms embargo, and an embargo on shipping refined oil
products to Iran. While Iran is a major exporter of crude it has a
shortage of gasoline and other oil derivatives.

If Tehran agrees to suspend enrichment, enter new negotiations on its
nuclear program and lift a ban on intrusive inspections by the IAEA, they
would be offered rewards including agreement by the international
community to "suspend discussion of Iran's file at the Security Council."

The package also promised help in "the building of new light-water
reactors in Iran," offered an assured supply of nuclear fuel for up to
five years, and asked Tehran to accept a plan that would move its
enrichment program to Russia.

A European official said Washington was unlikely to compromise beyond
giving up insistence that any council resolution be automatically
militarily enforceable.

Concern has been building since 2002 when Iran was found to be working on
large-scale plans to enrich uranium. Iran insists it is only interested
in generating electricity, but the international community increasingly
fears it plans to build a nuclear bomb.

A series of IAEA reports since then have revealed worrying secret
activities and documents, including drawings of how to mold weapons-grade
uranium metal into the shape of a warhead.

Iran heightened international worries by announcing on April 11 that it
had enriched uranium with 164 centrifuges. Experts estimate that Iran
could produce enough nuclear material for one bomb if it had at least
1,000 centrifuges working for more than a year.

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