Iranian nuclear reactor
Photo: AFP
Security Council OKs Iran statement
Security Council unanimously approves statement, demands Iran suspend uranium enrichment
The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a statement Wednesday demanding that Iran suspend uranium enrichment, the first time the powerful body has directly urged Tehran to clear up suspicions that it is seeking nuclear weapons.
The statement, which is not legally binding, will ask the U.N. Nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to report back in 30 days on Iran's compliance with demands to stop enriching uranium, a process that can lead to a nuclear weapon.
Council members approved the document by consensus and without a vote after a flurry of negotiations between the five veto-wielding members of the council. In the end, Britain, France and the United States made several concessions to China and Russia, Iran's allies, who wanted as mild a statement as possible.
Still, they said the statement expresses the international community's shared conviction that Iran must comply with the governing board of the IAEA and comply with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
"The council is expressing its clear concern and is saying to Iran that it should comply with the wishes of the governing board," France's U.N Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said.
Members of the council had wanted to reach a deal before Thursday, when foreign ministers from the five veto-wielding council members and Germany meet in Berlin to discuss strategy on Iran.
Diplomats would not say exactly what will happen if Iran does not comply the statement within 30 days, but suggested that foreign ministers would discuss just that issue in Berlin.
