U.S. Asks Allies to Condemn Iran on Nuclear Issue

[UpInArms]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/09/international/europe/09IRAN.html?ex=1079413200&?en=5de0b0485fa6dd8c&?ei=5062&?partner=GOOGLE

VIENNA, March 8 — The United States is pressing its European allies in the International Atomic Energy Agency to condemn Iran's nuclear program despite Tehran's insistence that it is for peaceful purposes only, according to a spokesman for the agency.

The United States is circulating a draft resolution at the agency's current board of governors' meeting that condemns Iran for failing to disclose in a declaration in October that it was working on an advanced centrifuge design capable of producing highly enriched uranium suitable for use in atomic weapons.

But the Europeans, led by France, Germany and Britain, favor a milder reproach, the spokesman said, fearing that stronger action could cause Iran to stop cooperating with the agency.

The agency's governors, representing 35 member nations, will issue resolutions on both Iran and Libya at their meeting here this week, the spokesman added. Both nations are under international scrutiny for having pursued nuclear programs that go beyond what is allowed by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

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[mrdmk]

1. More neocon pressure! n/t