Angry US says Iran must end nuclear program in two weeks

The Sydney Morning Herald.

By Frank Walker and agencies
March 12, 2006

THE United States is pushing the United Nations
Security Council to give Iran a two-week deadline to
halt nuclear work that could be related to the making
of weapons.

The ultimatum to Iran to step down from its nuclear
defiance or face sanctions could come as soon as
Friday when the 15 members of the Security Council
meet in New York.

A draft text prepared for the council by European
nations yesterday said Iran should "without delay
re-establish full, sustained and verifiable suspension
of all enrichment-related and reprocessing [for
plutonium] activities" with the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA).

Prime Minister John Howard has said Iran’s program
should be referred to the UN and it would be a test of
the UN’s effectiveness. But he believes it is too
early to talk of sanctions.

With Russia and China opposing direct action, the
Security Council is unlikely to rush into sanctions.
It is likely first to urge Iran to accept IAEA demands
that it halt all uranium enrichment work.

But the US is increasing the pressure to force Iran to
step back from its refusal to co-operate with the
IAEA.

US President George Bush yesterday labelled Iran a
"grave national security concern" as its leader,
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had stated a desire to destroy
Israel.

The US is convinced Iran is working towards building
nuclear bombs, something Iran denies. But Iran is
refusing IAEA demands to inspect its nuclear
facilities after it resumed uranium enrichment in
February.

Mr Bush said he sought diplomatic means to get Iran to
cap its nuclear goals, but the US is increasing its
rhetoric against Iran and gathering international
support for UN action.

"You begin to see an issue of grave national security
concern," Mr Bush said. "Therefore it’s very important
for the United States to continue to work with others
to solve these issues diplomatically, to deal with
these threats today."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair vowed to pursue
Iran’s case through the Security Council, saying a
failure by Tehran to meet its global obligations would
lead to "a serious situation".

Initial UN action could include foreign travel bans
and asset freezes aimed at Iranian leaders.

The US wants tougher action, but Russia and China,
both of which use Iranian gas and oil, are resisting
sanctions against Iran.

Russia is trying to broker a compromise allowing Iran
to enrich uranium on Russian soil, but Iran has so far
refused to give up enriching uranium on its own soil.
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