Envoys: Iran FM to meet UN Security Council
Diplomats say US, British and French ambassadors will not be attending meeting with Mottaki, but will be sending deputies instead
Facing the possibility of a new round of United Nations sanctions over its nuclear program, Iran's foreign minister will meet with the United States and other members of the Security Council on Thursday, diplomats said.
"The Iranian mission is hosting all members of the Security Council this evening," a UN diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "All countries will be represented."
Several diplomats said that the UN ambassadors of the United States, Britain and France would not be attending the meeting with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki at Iran's UN mission, but would be sending deputies instead.
It was not immediately clear who would be attending from the other 12 council members.
"Iran has been offered many opportunities to prove the peaceful nature of its nuclear program," a US official said.
"This meeting is another indication of the lengths the Iranians are going to make their case," the official added. "They clearly recognize that the ongoing efforts in the Security Council and elsewhere are isolating them and doing them harm."
Washington and its Western allies suspect that Iran is developing nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian atomic energy program.
Tehran insists that its nuclear ambitions are limited to the peaceful generation of electricity, but has refused to halt sensitive activities that could enable it to develop weapons.
The United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany have been negotiating for weeks on a draft resolution that would impose a fourth round of sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment program.
