Is Ahmadinejad feeling the heat?
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UN: West introduces Iran resolution
Tougher approach in the face of nuke threat: Western countries introduce Security Council resolution calling on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment; resolution could pave way for sanctions against Teheran
Getting serious? The United States, Britain and France introduced a U.N. Security Council resolution on Wednesday demanding Iran suspend uranium enrichment efforts that the West suspects are part of a secret nuclear weapons program.
The resolution could trigger sanctions against Iran unless it abandons uranium enrichment and was introduced despite objections from Russia and China.
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The West hopes the Security Council will adopt the resolution before foreign ministers convene in New York next Monday, the ambassadors of France and the United States said before a Security Council meeting to discuss the issue.
The resolution decides that Iran "shall suspend all enrichment related and reprocessing activities," according to the text presented to the council. The resolution also calls on Iran to stop construction of a heavy-water reactor. It will seek a report back from the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, on Iran's compliance.
No timeframe has been set for that report but diplomats said the west wants that report no later than early June.
The resolution would be under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which makes it legally binding and gives Iran another chance to comply with the council's demands. However, the draft does threaten to consider "further measures" to ensure compliance and calls on nations to "exercise vigilance" in preventing the transfer of technology that could contribute to Iran's nuclear programs.
