U.S., Europeans Work Out Response to Iran

U.S. and European negotiators agreed Monday on a proposed resolution to condemn Iran for hiding its nuclear programs while encouraging it to cooperate with the U.N. atomic watchdog.

The International Atomic Energy Agency draft has some sharp language on Tehran’s nuclear concealment. It “strongly deplores Iran’s past failures and breaches of its obligation to comply” with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

U.S. officials had hoped that Iran’s past nuclear cover-ups would be enough for the issue to be referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible economic sanctions, but that move is not part of the resolution.

Though the draft avoids any direct mention of the Security Council, it alludes to the U.N. body by warning that the atomic agency would use “all options at its disposal” in case of further evidence of clandestine nuclear activities in Iran or Tehran’s failure to keep its nuclear programs open to scrutiny.

The draft broke days of deadlock at the Vienna-based IAEA. It was formally submitted to the agency’s board of governors, who are to resume a meeting Wednesday, diplomats said. The resolution follows an IAEA report that found Iran had concealed a uranium-enrichment program for 18 years and secretly reprocessed plutonium, which is usable in weapons. It said that there was “no evidence” of an arms program but that it had not determined whether one existed.

A senior State Department official said the draft resolution made it clear the board would consider reporting Iran to the Security Council in the event of further violations, but without stating that explicitly, which diplomats said made it acceptable to the Europeans and Tehran.

The wording had been a sticking point for the United States, which accuses Iran of wanting to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists that its nuclear activities are related to electrical power and are peaceful.

Last week, Washington had insisted it would hold out for at least a threat of council action. France, Germany and Britain instead put forward a relatively softly worded draft meant to focus on encouraging Iran to open its nuclear programs to stringent IAEA scrutiny. That was rejected by Washington.

A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said agreement was reached after days of negotiations among Washington, London, Berlin and Paris. U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell talked with his British, German and French counterparts over modifications of the draft late into Monday.