Week in Review

DoctorZin provides a review of this past week's [1/30/06 -2/05/06] major news events regarding Iran. (The reports are listed in chronological order, not by importance) READ MORE

Iran's Nuclear Program - The IAEA Reports Iran to the UN Security Council.

• The Telegraph reported that Iran has formed a top secret team of nuclear specialists to infiltrate the IAEA to obtain information on the work of IAEA inspectors.
• Michael Sheridan, The Times reported that North Korea is negotiating to sell the Iranians plutonium.
• EUbusiness reported that now Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi is saying: "The Russian proposal is a good package."
• The New York Times reported that Iran has finally given inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency access to the razed military site at Lavisan.
• Reuters reported that Iran insisted the only solution to its nuclear dispute with the West was negotiations.
• Reuters reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that "Iran threatens not only the Jewish state but the entire democratic world."
• Dow Jones Newswires reported that IAEA Chief ElBaradei met with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and earlier with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and then commented that his session with Straw was "very good."
• Reuters reported that a panel on Iran at the Davos forum identified three options: diplomacy, Iraq-style "regime change", and doing nothing and hoping for the best.
• Shervin Omidvar, Rooz Online reported that last week, after Rafsanjani attended the “decisive meeting” on the nuclear issue, he immediately went to Qom and held private meetings with each grand ayatollah.
• Reuters reported that the permanent five members of the U.N. Security Council agreed on Tuesday that this week's meeting of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog should report Iran to the Council.
• Reuters reported that Iran presented no major new proposals at talks with European Union countries on Monday.
• Reuters reported that the European Union called on the U.N. Security Council to step into the nuclear dispute with Iran.
• Jenny Davey in Davos, The Times reported that Bill Clinton called for America to forge closer links with Iran, saying that talks had to allow Tehran to "preserve a sense of national dignity."
• Washington Post reported that Seven in 10 Americans would support international economic sanctions as a way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
• Middle East Newsline reported that Mansoor Ijaz, a U.S. nuclear scientist, said Tehran obtained an atomic bomb about a decade ago from the nuclear black market.
• The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel intelligence notable, Rafi Eitan, suspects that Iran already has enough enriched uranium fissionable material to manufacture at least one or two atom bombs.
• Jonathan Gurwitz, San Antonio Express-News reminds us that occasionally, madmen make good on their threats.
• Yahoo News reported that Iran's leading nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani said: "Reporting Iran's dossier to the U.N. Security Council will be unconstructive and the end of diplomacy."
• Reuters reported that the IAEA confirmed that Iran had begun preparing for nuclear enrichment.
• Reuters reported that Iran threatened to halt snap U.N. inspections of its nuclear sites and resume uranium enrichment, if it was reported to the U.N. Security Council.
• Reuters reported that British Prime Minister Tony Blair said world powers had sent a strong signal to Iran by agreeing to involve the U.N. Security Council.
• Debka Files reported that Russian FM Sergei Lavrov told the five permanent UN Security Council members that Russia believe Iran is now capable of carrying out its first nuclear test.
• Andrei Piontkovsky, The Jerusalem Post predicts that in the beginning of March Iran will "reluctantly" agree to Putin's proposal for Iranian uranium enrichment on Russian territory. The world will sigh relief but the nuclear danger from Iran will loom larger than ever.
• The New York Times reported that the IAEA says it has evidence that suggests links between Iran's ostensibly peaceful nuclear program and its military work on high explosives and missiles.
• The Wall Street Journal published a copy of the text of European Draft IAEA Resolution on Iran.
• The Associated Press reported that the United States is compromising on hard-line positions regarding Iran and Hamas.
• And finally, The Christian Science Monitor reported that Turkey, caught in the fray: enters a debate on Iran's nuclear program.
• CNN News reported that just hours ahead of an emergency meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, a U.S. official said a "troubling" briefing in Vienna has revealed new information that Iran might be pursuing atomic weapons.
• The Guardian reported that Iran's foreign minister threatened immediate retaliation over a move to refer its nuclear weapons activities to the UNSC.
• Yahoo News reported that Gregory L. Schulte, the chief U.S. delegate to the IAEA said: "There's a solid majority in favor of reporting," Iran to the U.N. Security Council.
• Kenneth R. Timmerman, FrontPageMagazine.com reported that three individuals and two pieces of information have been key to the refreshing burst of realism we are finally beginning to see from the IAEA board of governors.
• Voice of America reported that the U.S. National Director of Intelligence, John Negroponte, said: "We judge that Tehran probably does not have a nuclear weapon and probably has not yet produced or acquired the necessary fissile material."
  
• Investor's Business Daily reported that the bad news is North Korea may try to supply Iran with plutonium for atomic weapons. The good news is Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is already acting against it.
• Xinhuanet reported that Javad Vaeidi, deputy head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council warned that reporting the Iran's nuclear issue to the UNSC would mean the killing of Russia's proposal on uranium enrichment.
• The New York Times reported that the 35-nation board of the IAEA delayed a vote on a landmark resolution on Iran's nuclear program due to opposition to a clause indirectly criticizing Israel's nuclear weapons status.
• The Financial Times reported that Rafsanjani made a last minute appeal to the board of the IAEA not to refer Iran to the UN security council saying: “I know this nation, its history and the region - and I advise them not to make such a mistake.”
• The Economist reported that if diplomacy is ever safely to defuse Iran's nuclear ambitions, this week's rare display of unity could prove the turning point.
• Omid Memarian, Rooz Online argued that the Iranian regime has made numerous mistakes on its nuclear program and that the ball doesn't seem to be in Iran's field anymore.
• Mehran Riazaty reported that Rafsanjani warned that "perhaps, you (west) could cause some troubles for us, but we will also reciprocate for that and we will cause you troubles in return."
• The Wall Street Journal reported the West is hoping for negotiations that would avoid "humiliating" Iran and that rarely has there been such a determined effort to put a positive spin on a depressing reality.
• The Wall Street Journal illustrated some of the wishful thinking in the west, noting former Times of London editor Simon Jenkins said: "How can we say such a country[Iran] has 'no right' to nuclear defense?" In other words, what's the big deal?
• Telegraph reported that the IAEA board of governors has voted 27 to three to report Iran to the UN Security Council.
• The IAEA published the text of the resolution.
• Guardian reported that a senior Iranian official said a proposal to enrich Iranian uranium in Russia is dead.
• Reuters reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued an order to Iran's Atomic Energy Organization to restart full-scale uranium enrichment, according to his website. However the Iranian presidential office denies the report.
• The Guardian reported that President Bush said Saturday's vote to send Iran's nuclear case before the U.N. Security Council sends a clear message and that "the regime's continued defiance only further isolates Iran from the rest of the world and undermines the Iranian people's aspirations for a better life.''
• The New York Times reported that Donald H. Rumsfeld urged the world to work for a ''diplomatic solution'' to halt Iran's nuclear program, but cut out of his statement an important reference to the Iranian people.
• Reuters reported that U.S. Senator John McCain urged the world to impose economic and other sanctions on Iran, bypassing the United Nations if needed.
• Reuters reported that Richard Perle said on Saturday the West should not make the mistake of waiting too long to use military force if Iran comes close to getting an atomic weapon.
• Hindustan Times reported that the Chinese ambassador to the UN said China would never support sanctions against Iran as a "matter of principle."
• Times Online reported that German chancellor, Angela Merkel, compared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran to Adolf Hitler.
  

Tehran Bus Strike - The start of something big?

• Rooz Online reported that between 300 to 400 striking bus drivers and their families were arrested in Tehran, with little or no media coverage.
• No Sweat reported that thousands of the striking workers were beaten up by security forces but that in solidarity with the strikers, many residents of Tehran refused to board the buses.
• SMCCDI reported that hundreds of "Tehran's Collective Bus Company" (TCBC) drivers, technicians and workers will stay home, this upcoming Friday, in order to protest.
• USInfo.State.gov released a statement that the US government expressed support for Iranian workers and their right to protest for better working conditions. The statement specifically mentions bus drivers in Iran.
• SMCCDI reported on the US Government Statement on the Tehran Bus Strike.
• Libcom.org provided an update on the Tehran bus workers strike.
• Eli Lake, The New York Sun reported that the strike of Tehran Bus drivers has the potential for Iran's various opposition factors to present a sustained and unified front, then a strategy to support them in the interest of regime change could become a more attractive policy option for the West.
• International Confederation of Free Trade Unions reported that Iranian authorities have again targeted trade unionists at Sherkate Vahed, Teheran’s bus company and the government is determined not to let the press cover this news.
• Amnesty International called on the Iranian authorities to release immediately hundreds of Tehran bus workers, reminding us that Iran is bound by international law to permit unions.
• SMCCDI reported that tens more of employees of the "Tehran's Collective Bus Company" (TCBC) have been arrested, in the last two nights.
• Human Rights Watch joined others in calling for Iran to release the Tehran Bus workers arrested for their strike.
• People's Weekly World Newspaper reported that Iranian police brutally attacked activists of the Tehran and Suburbs Public Transport Trade Union and nearly 1,200 trade union activists and strikers were arrested.
  

Ahmadinejad - On the Offensive.

• The Times of India reported that Iran called on British Prime Minister Tony Blair to attend its scheduled Holocaust conference in Tehran.
• Ha'aretz reported that Iran accused the "Zionist regime" of "routinely attempting to exploit the suffering of the Jewish people.
• The New York Times reported that while Ahmadinejad has been the subject of many jokes across Iran, he is consolidating his power and he has threatened to wipe not just Israel off the map, but America, too.
• Mehran Riazaty reported on the threats by Iran's terrorist allies' plans to create another Vietnam for the US in the Middle East.
• Yahoo News reported that Ahmadinejad called George W. Bush a warmonger who should be dragged before a "people's tribunal" and "God willing, in the near future we will judge you in a people's tribunal."
• Reuters reported that Ahmadinejad on Wednesday angrily rejected international pressure on Iran saying: "I am telling those fake superpowers that the Iranian nation became independent 27 years ago and ... on the nuclear case it will resist until fully achieving its rights."
  

Ahmadinejad's Worldview.

• Hamed Irani, Rooz Online reported that the radical Baseej forces in Iran believe the return of the absent Imam (12th Shiite Imam) is imminent.
• Rooz Online examined the influence of the late Ahmad Fardid in forming the ideology of Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi.
  

Rumors of War.

• Michael Karpin, The American Enterprise Online examined the question: Will Israel Blast the Iranian Bomb?
• Reuters reported that President Bush, when asked if he meant the United States would rise to Israel's defense militarily, said: "You bet, we'll defend Israel."
• Middle East Newsline reported that Iran ordered the redeployment of its Shihab-3 intermediate-range missile force, concerned over an Israeli or U.S. attack.
• National Post reported that Israel and Washington already have war plans in place for Iran.
  

More Calls for an Internal Regime Change in Iran.

• Robert Kagan, The Washington Post argued that the US needs to reorient of strategy towards Iran by start supporting liberal and democratic change there.
• Mansoor Ijaz, National Review Online argued that nothing will change the mindset and determination of a regime intent on holding the world hostage to its nuclear blackmail and that regime change is the only solution.
• Financial Times reported that the direct appeal by President George W. Bush to the Iranian people to “win your own freedom” was a barely disguised call for regime change in Iran.
• SMCCDI reported that Iranians are welcoming President George W. Bush's State of Union Speech many asking for the e-mail listing or fax and phone numbers of the White House.
• United Press International reported that a Senator Brownback called for a tenfold increase in U.S. aid to support democratic change and human rights inside Iran. Bloggers can help here.
  

Iranian Oil a Weapon?

• The Financial Times reported that Iran’s oil minister said Tehran would not halt its oil exports because of growing tensions over its nuclear program.

The Other Iranian Threat to the US.

• The Daily Times reported that Iran proposes to set up by March 2006 an “oil/energy bourse” for trading based on the euro which represents a grave threat to the United States.
• Jerome Corsi, WorldNetDaily.com asked: Will Iran's 'Petroeuro' Threat Lead to War?
  

International Business Responds.

• The Wall Street Journal reported that some of the world's largest finance and energy companies are severing ties with Iran.
  

The Unrest inside of Iran.

• IranMania reported that a group of Iranian soldiers kidnapped near the border with Pakistan nearly two months ago was freed.
• ExpressIndia reported that Iran had detained dozens of suspects in two bombings that killed at least nine people in the southwestern city of Ahvaz last week.
• SMCCDI reported clashes rocked a suburb of the western City of Sannandaj.
  

Human Rights/Religious and Press Freedom inside of Iran.

• SMCCDI reported that a man accused of "murder" was executed, but was arrested following the clashes between protesters and Islamic regime's security forces.
• Adnkronos International reported that Iranian officials in Isfahan announced that women state employees who fail to wear the Islamic hijab or head scarf face 74 lashes according to Islamic law.
• SMCCDI reported that several assisted women were beaten up, yesterday, by the Islamic regime's security agents when forced from their home.
• SMCCDI reported that two more Iranians were executed, yesterday.
  

The Iranian Economy.

• Reuters reported that India has replaced its pro-Iranian oil minister with Murli Deora known to have "deep contacts" in the US Senate and business circles. The Iran gas pipeline now appears dead.
• Rooz Online reported that Iran’s budget has unexpectedly received a 50% increase, a radical change that economic experts describe as “disastrous”.
• Reuters reported that Iran will press on with a contentious gas pipeline to Pakistan even if India does not meet a May deadline to join the project.
  

Iran's Military.

• The Australian reported that Iran secretly tested a new surface-to-surface missile and it was successful.
  

Iran and the International community.

• Voice of America reported that Afghan officials say militants from Iran and Iraq are now joining the insurgency in Afghanistan.
• BBC News reported that Iran is the country most widely viewed as having a negative influence in the world.
• CNN News reported that German prosecutors charged two Germans with spying and delivering weapons technology to Iran.
  

Can you believe this?

• Deutsche Welle Online reported that despite claims that Ahmadinejad lives in an apartment, they claim he lives now lives almost exactly in the same spot cleared by his predecessor, in North Tehran.
• Dr Etebar reported that the BBC Persian website censored President Bush’s state of the union speech and his message to the Iranians!
  

Insight into the Iranian People.

• Ebrahim Nabavi, Rooz Online published the Iranian satirist latest: If Ahmadinejad Ruled the World.
  

US Policy on Iran.

• The White House published the text of President Bush's State of the Union Address. We highlighted relevant comments on Iran.
• Reuters reported that President Bush, when asked if he meant the United States would rise to Israel's defense militarily, said: "You bet, we'll defend Israel."
  

Must Read reports.

• Bijan Kian, United Press International argued that in the art of diplomacy Iran is out maneuvering the West.
• Alan Peters, Anti-Mullah considered the question: Can The USA Avoid Attacking Iran? Can We Attack Successfully?
• William R. Hawkins, National Review Online examined China's role as protector of the two remaining "axis of evil" regimes.
• Arnaud De Borchgrave, United Press International examined the ideology behind Iran's President and his belief that the world will end in two years.
• The Wall Street Journal examined the question: So why is the White House so committed to the vagaries of diplomacy with Iran?
  

The Experts.

• Michael Ledeen, National Review Online examined the hard reality that universally, people often freely choose tyranny.
• Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, FrontPageMagazine reported that HAMAS’ triumph is an important springboard towards the establishment of the Caliphate ­– a global Islamic state.
• Ilan Berman, The American Foreign Policy Council published his testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services in which he examined six trends the United States can expect to confront from Iran in the near future.
• Michael Ledeen, National Review Online responded to a Washington Post article by Karl Vick, calling it "a fawning puff piece" in defense of Ahmadinejad.
• Michael Eisenstadt, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy published his recent testimony before congress on how to deter and contain Iran.
  

Photos, cartoons and videos.

• Eyeranian.net published: I want you to attack Iran!
• Cox & Forkum published a cartoon: Idle Worship.
• The American Enterprise Institute hosted a panel discussion with Sen Brownback, Pat Clawson, Stephen G. Rademaker, George Perkovich and Danielle Pletka: Next Steps: The Iranian Threat. See the video.
  

And finally, The Quote of the Week.

Paul Hughes and Tabassum Zakaria, Reuters reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad angrily rejected international pressure on Iran, saying:

"Those whose arms are stained up to the elbow with the blood of other nations are now accusing us of violating human rights and freedoms. God willing, we shall drag you to trial."

Sunday's Daily Briefing on Iran

DoctorZin reports, 2.5.2005:

Iran Referred to the UN Security Council.

• Telegraph reported that the IAEA board of governors has voted 27 to three to report Iran to the UN Security Council.
• The IAEA published the text of the resolution.
  

Iran Responds: No to Russia, Yes to Enrichment, then again no.

• Guardian reported that a senior Iranian official said a proposal to enrich Iranian uranium in Russia is dead.
• Reuters reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued an order to Iran's Atomic Energy Organization to restart full-scale uranium enrichment, according to his website. However the Iranian presidential office denies the report.

American Leaders Prepare to Put the Pressure on Iran.

• The Guardian reported that President Bush said Saturday's vote to send Iran's nuclear case before the U.N. Security Council sends a clear message and that "the regime's continued defiance only further isolates Iran from the rest of the world and undermines the Iranian people's aspirations for a better life.''
• The New York Times reported that Donald H. Rumsfeld urged the world to work for a ''diplomatic solution'' to halt Iran's nuclear program, but cut out of his statement an important reference to the Iranian people.
• Reuters reported that U.S. Senator John McCain urged the world to impose economic and other sanctions on Iran, bypassing the United Nations if needed.
• Reuters reported that Richard Perle said on Saturday the West should not make the mistake of waiting too long to use military force if Iran comes close to getting an atomic weapon.

China Prepares to Take the Pressure off Iran.

• Hindustan Times reported that the Chinese ambassador to the UN said China would never support sanctions against Iran as a "matter of principle."
  

Germany puts its own unique pressure on Iran,

• Times Online reported that German chancellor, Angela Merkel, compared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran to Adolf Hitler.

Here are a few other news items you may have missed.

• The Australian reported that Iran secretly tested a new surface-to-surface missile and it was successful.
• Reuters reported that Iran will press on with a contentious gas pipeline to Pakistan even if India does not meet a May deadline to join the project.
• The American Enterprise Institute hosted a panel discussion with Sen Brownback, Pat Clawson, Stephen G. Rademaker, George Perkovich and Danielle Pletka: Next Steps: The Iranian Threat. See the video.

China won't support sanctions against Iran

Hindustan Times:

China would never support sanctions against Iran as a "matter of principle," the Chinese ambassador to the UN said on Friday, adding that his nation still prefers a low-key approach in confronting Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Ambassador Wang Guangya told reporters that he did not want the Security Council to be used to put pressure on Iran, but instead to support the International Atomic Energy as it tries to defuse the standoff over Iran's suspect nuclear program.

"I think, as a matter of principle, China never supports sanctions as a way of exercising pressure because it is always the people that would be hurt," Wang said. READ MORE

Wang's comments came as the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board today debated whether to refer Iran to the Security Council, which has the power to impose legally binding sanctions against a nation.

The United States and several European countries want the council to play an active role as a way to exert pressure on Iran. But Russia and China, allies of Iran, have said they envision the council having far less involvement.

Iran, which claims its program is peaceful and aimed only at generating electricity, has repeatedly warned that getting the Security Council involved would provoke it into doing exactly what the world wants it to renounce — starting full-scale uranium enrichment — as well as curtailing IAEA inspections.

"I think the best way we still have time to work for is to make all sides to be flexible to work out this diplomatic solution," Wang said. "We believe that now it is not the council that should exert its responsibility, it's still the IAEA.

Text of IAEA statement on Iran

IAEA:

The following is the text of the resolution passed on Saturday by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran: READ MORE

The Board of Governors,

(a) Recalling all the resolutions adopted by the Board on Iran's nuclear programme,

(b) Recalling also the Director General's reports,

(c) Recalling that Article IV of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons stipulates that nothing in the Treaty shall be interpreted as affecting the inalienable rights of all the Parties to the Treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination and in conformity with Articles I and II of the Treaty,

(d) Commending the Director General and the Secretariat for their professional and impartial efforts to implement the Safeguards Agreement in Iran, to resolve outstanding safeguards issues in Iran and to verify the implementation by Iran of the suspension,

(e) Recalling the Director General's description of this as a special verification case,

(f) Recalling that in reports referred to above, the Director General noted that after nearly three years of intensive verification activity, the Agency is not yet in a position to clarify some important issues relating to Iran's nuclear programme or to conclude that there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in Iran,

(g) Recalling Iran's many failures and breaches of its obligations to comply with its NPT Safeguards Agreement and the absence of confidence that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes resulting from the history of concealment of Iran's nuclear activities, the nature of those activities and other issues arising from the Agency's verification of declarations made by Iran since September 2002,

(h) Recalling that the Director General has stated that Iran's full transparency is indispensable and overdue for the Agency to be able to clarify outstanding issues (GOV/2005/67),

(i) Recalling the requests of the Agency for Iran's cooperation in following up on reports relating to equipment, materials and activities which have applications in the conventional military area and in the civilian sphere as well as in the nuclear military area (as indicated by the Director General in GOV/2005/67),

(j) Recalling that in November 2005 the Director General reported (GOV/2005/87) that Iran possesses a document related to the procedural requirements for the reduction of UF6 to metal in small quantities, and on the casting and machining of enriched, natural and depleted uranium metal into hemispherical forms,

(k) Expressing serious concerns about Iran's nuclear programme, and agreeing that an extensive period of confidence-building is required from Iran,

(l) Reaffirming the Boards resolve to continue to work for a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, and

(m) Recognising that a solution to the Iranian issue would contribute to global non-proliferation efforts and to realising the objective of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, including their means of delivery,

1. Underlines that outstanding questions can best be resolved and confidence built in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's programme by Iran responding positively to the calls for confidence building measures which the Board has made on Iran, and in this context deems it necessary for Iran to:

Re-establish full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, to be verified by the Agency;

Reconsider the construction of a research reactor moderated by heavy water;

Ratify promptly and implement in full the Additional Protocol;

pending ratification, continue to act in accordance with the provisions of the Additional Protocol which Iran signed on 18 December 2003;

Implement transparency measures, as requested by the Director General, including in GOV/2005/67, which extend beyond the formal requirements of the Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol, and include such access to individuals, documentation relating to procurement, dual use equipment, certain military-owned workshops and research and development as the Agency may request in support of its ongoing investigations;

2. Requests the Director General to report to the Security Council of the United Nations that these steps are required of Iran by the Board and to report to the Security Council all IAEA reports and resolutions, as adopted, relating to this issue;

3. Expresses serious concern that the Agency is not yet in a position to clarify some important issues relating to Iran's nuclear programme, including the fact that Iran has in its possession a document on the production of uranium metal hemispheres, since, as reported by the Secretariat, this process is related to the fabrication of nuclear weapon components; and, noting that the decision to put this document under Agency seal is a positive step, requests Iran to maintain this document under Agency seal and to provide a full copy to the Agency;

4. Deeply regret that, despite repeated calls from the Board for the maintaining of the suspension of all enrichment related and reprocessing activities which the Board has declared essential to addressing outstanding issues, Iran resumed uranium conversion activities at its Isfahan facility on August 8, 2005 and took steps to resume enrichment activities on January 10, 2006;

5. Calls on Iran to understand that there is a lack of confidence in Iran's intentions in seeking to develop a fissile material production capability against the background of Iran's record on safeguards as recorded in previous Resolutions, and outstanding issues; and to reconsider its position in relation to confidence-building measures, which are voluntary, and non-legally binding, and to adopt a constructive approach in relation to negotiations that can result in increased confidence;

6. Requests Iran to extend full and prompt cooperation to the Agency, which the Director General deems indispensable and overdue, and in particular to help the Agency clarify possible activities which could have a military nuclear dimension;

7. Underlines that the Agency's work on verifying Iran's declarations is ongoing and requests the Director General to continue with his efforts to implement the Agencys Safeguards Agreement with Iran, to implement the Additional Protocol to that Agreement pending its entry into force, with a view to providing credible assurances regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran, and to pursue additional transparency measures required for the Agency to be able to resolve outstanding issues and reconstruct the history and nature of all aspects of Iran's past nuclear activities;

8. Requests the Director General to report on the implementation of this and previous resolutions to the next regular session of the Board, for its consideration, and immediately thereafter to convey, together with any Resolution from the March Board, that report to the Security Council; and

9. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Here is a pdf version of the document from the IAEA.

The resolution includes language about keeping the Middle East a nuclear weapons free zone.

"Recognising that a solution to the Iranian issue would contribute to global non-proliferation efforts and to realising the objective of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, including their means of delivery."

Iran vows pipeline to Pakistan if India drops out

Reuters:

Iran will press on with a contentious gas pipeline to Pakistan even if India does not meet a May deadline to join the project, an Iranian deputy oil minister was quoted as saying on Saturday.

The original plan was to build a $7 billion pipeline linking Iran's abundant gas reserves, the world's second biggest, to India's booming economy.

But the project has met strong U.S. objections as Tehran edges closer to the U.N. Security Council under suspicion of seeking nuclear arms. Iran denies the charge. READ MORE

India and Pakistan need to balance their energy needs with diplomatic ties to Washington. India has said it will abstain at Saturday's vote of the International Atomic Energy Agency on reporting Tehran to the world body.

"We will enact the Iran-Pakistan natural gas purchase agreement and start building a pipeline without India if we do not reach an accord with the Indians by May," Deputy Oil Minister Mohammad Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian was quoted as saying by the Poul financial daily.

Pakistan's Petroleum Minister Amanullah Khan Jadoon said last month Islamabad fully supported the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline.

Although Pakistan is a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism it says the pipeline would aid economic growth and foster better ties with India after years of brinkmanship between the nuclear-armed rivals.

Iran launched 'secret' rocket test

The Australian:

IRAN secretly tested a new surface-to-surface missile (SSM) on January 17, seeking to establish the measurements needed for long-range missiles, the German daily Die Welt reported in its issue to appear today.

The test, conducted by members of the Revolutionary Guard led by Yahya Rahim Safavi, was successful, according to Western diplomats cited by the newspaper, which did not indicate the location where the test took place. READ MORE

On January 28, Safavi said that Iran would use its ballistic missiles if it was attacked.

"Iran has a ballistic missile with a range of 2,000 kilometres," he said on Iranian public television.

"We do not intend to attack any country, but if we are attacked, we are capable of effectively responding. Our position is defensive."

Mr Safavi was referring to the Shahab-3 missiles that Iran possesses which can reach Israel and US bases in the Middle East.

Bush: IAEA Vote Is Clear Message to Iran

Anne Gearan, The Guardian:

In a rebuke of Tehran, President Bush said Saturday's long-sought vote to send Iran's nuclear case before the U.N. Security Council sends a clear message that the world will not permit the Iranian regime to gain nuclear weapons.

"The path chosen by Iran's new leaders - threats, concealment, and breaking international agreements and IAEA seals - will not succeed and will not be tolerated by the international community,'' Bush said in a statement the White House issued Saturday at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, where he is spending the weekend.

"The regime's continued defiance only further isolates Iran from the rest of the world and undermines the Iranian people's aspirations for a better life.'' READ MORE

The administration said the action gives Tehran one month to comply with the world's demands, but U.S. diplomats would not specify the penalties they hope might be imposed.

"I think we'll hold our fire,'' Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns told reporters.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a resolution that Iran's nuclear program may not be ``exclusively for peaceful purposes.'' Iran promptly said it would resume uranium enrichment at its main plant instead of in Russia.

The United States is convinced that Iran is concealing its ambitions to build a bomb and has favored sending the matter to the Security Council option for almost three years.

Bush said the United States expects the Security Council ``to add its weight'' to the IAEA's calls on the Iranian regime to suspend all enrichment and reprocessing activity, cooperate fully with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog and return to negotiations with Great Britain, France and Germany.

He said the vote by the IAEA board did not mark the end of diplomacy, but the beginning of an intensified diplomatic effort to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

"Those steps are necessary for the regime to begin to restore any confidence that it is not seeking nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian program,'' he said.

Aside from his message to the Iranian government, Bush told the Iranian citizenry that the IAEA vote is not about trying to deny them from having a civil nuclear energy program, but was solely to prevent their leaders from acquiring nuclear weapons.

"Iran's true interests lie in working with the international community to enjoy the benefits of peaceful nuclear energy, not in isolating Iran by continuing to develop the capability to build nuclear weapons,'' he said.

Washington cut diplomatic ties with Iran after militant students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and took Americans hostage. The Bush administration stood on the sidelines during intensive diplomatic efforts by European powers, Russia and others to avert what many nations saw as a showdown between old adversaries.

Continued provocation from Iran turned world opinion against it, U.S. officials said Saturday.

"The strong majority in favor of the resolution, representing all regions of the world, underscores the concern of the entire international community about Iran's nuclear program,'' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement.

"We hope the Iranian regime will heed this clear message,'' Rice said. "The world will not stand by if Iran continues on the path to a nuclear weapons capability.''

The decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board sets the stage for future action by the council, which has the authority to impose economic and political penalties.

Any such moves are weeks, if not months away. Two permanent council members, Russia and China, agreed to referral only on condition the council take no action before March.

The delay gives time for Iran's allies or others to try to intercede. U.S. officials said they will not stand in the way of new diplomacy.

"The challenge will be for Iran to choose diplomacy over isolation,'' Burns said. "It's got 30 days to do that.''

The United States, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month, will circulate a report on Iran but not call for any discussion or other action until after a March 6 meeting of the IAEA, Burns said.

At that point, if Iran has not complied with the agency's demands, the U.S. or others would begin what Burns predicted would be a vigorous debate in the council. Although tough penalties are one option, the United States has said it is not seeking them right away.

"We're going to ratchet up the pressure step by step,'' Burns said.

The council could issue a nonbinding statement, set up its own list of conditions for Iran to meet, impose some punishment right away or do nothing.

There is a strong distaste among some members of the council for broad and punitive penalties similar to those that contributed to a humanitarian crisis in Iraq when Saddam Hussein was president. China's U.N. ambassador said Friday that his nation is opposed to U.N. penalties as a matter of principle.

Ahmadinejad Orders Restart of Atomic Fuel Work

Reuters, Chron.com:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today issued an order to Iran's Atomic Energy Organization to restart full-scale uranium enrichment, the conservative Mehr news agency said.

However the Iranian presidential office denies the report.

"The law to oblige the Iranian government to suspend its voluntary measures if Iran's case is referred or reported to the Security Council, that was ratified in an open parliament session ... is hereby decreed to be executed," said a copy of Ahmadinejad's order posted on the agency's Web site. READ MORE

Iran was reported to the U.N. Security Council today for failing to allay fears it is seeking nuclear arms, a charge Tehran flatly denies.

Iranian lawmakers in November passed a bill forcing the government to restart full-scale uraniumdi Arabia, a stampede near Jamarat Bridge kills 270 where pilgrims hurl stones at piles of rocks symbolizing the devil.

Another example of how the regime can say one thing one moment and another the next.

McCain Urges Iran Sanctions, Outside UN if Needed

Reuters:

U.S. Senator John McCain, a top member of President George W. Bush's Republican Party, urged the world on Saturday to impose economic and other sanctions on Iran, bypassing the United Nations if needed.

Welcoming the vote by the UN nuclear watchdog on Saturday to report Iran to the Security Council, McCain repeated that military action against Tehran must remain an option if it did not bow to international demands to halt its nuclear activities.

"Immediate UN Security Council action is required to impose multilateral sanctions, including a prohibition on investment, a travel ban, and asset freezes for government leaders and nuclear scientists," McCain told a security conference in Munich.

"Should Russia and China decline to join our peaceful efforts to resolve the nuclear issue, we should seek willing partners to impose these sanctions outside the UN framework." READ MORE

Russia and China are permanent members of the UN Security Council, along with the United States, Britain and France.

Washington, Europe and others believe the Islamic Republic is seeking to make the atomic bomb. Tehran says its nuclear program is designed solely to generate electricity.

"Every option must remain on the table. There is only one thing worse than military action, that is a nuclear-armed Iran," said McCain, repeating comments made at last month's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

He added however that military action was a "totally undesirable option" of last resort.

In a 27-3 vote on Saturday, the International Atomic Energy Agency's board opted to notify the Security Council on Iran.

No Council action, including sanctions, will be considered before a conclusive IAEA investigative report due next month.

McCain said Iran would be a key test of U.S.-Russia ties. Without singling out policies, he criticized the government of President Vladimir Putin for a lack of democracy and mooted a boycott of a Russia-hosted G8 summit this year.

"Under Mr Putin, Russia today is neither a democracy nor an economic power. I seriously question whether G8 leaders should attend the G8 summit," McCain said.

Perle: Iraq errors show West must act fast on Iran

Reuters:

Richard Perle, a key architect of the U.S.-led war against Iraq, said on Saturday the West should not make the mistake of waiting too long to use military force if Iran comes close to getting an atomic weapon. "If you want to try to wait until the very last minute, you'd better be very confident of your intelligence because if you're not, you won't know when the last minute is," Perle told Reuters on the sidelines of an annual security conference in Munich.

"And so, ironically, one of the lessons of the inadequate intelligence of Iraq is you'd better be careful how long you choose to wait." READ MORE

Perle said Israel had chosen not to wait until it was too late to destroy the key facility Saddam Hussein's secret nuclear weapons program in Osirak, Iraq in 1981. The Israelis decided to bomb the Osirak reactor before it was loaded up with nuclear fuel to prevent widespread radioactive contamination.

"I can't tell you when we may face a similar choice with Iran. But it's either take action now or lose the option of taking action," he said.

Asked if he thought a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities was an inevitability, Perle said: "I hope that can be avoided but that's always a possibility. We are talking about physical facilities and they're always vulnerable."

Perle is one of the top U.S. neoconservatives who advocated a pre-emptive invasion of Iraq to topple Saddam and seize alleged stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. No such stockpiles were found after the war and U.S. President George W. Bush has acknowledged that the intelligence was bad.

Perle served under U.S. President Ronald Reagan as an assistant secretary of defense and on the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee from 1987 to 2004. He was an influential chairman of the Board from 2001 to 2003.

Next Steps: The Iranian Threat

The American Enterprise Institute:

The Iranian regime has made clear it is uninterested in ending its nuclear program. In addition, Iran’s new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has reversed the minimal political and economic reforms of recent years. In less than six months as president, Ahmadinejad has chosen a cabinet of hard-liners, outlawed Western music, inaugurated a new campaign of anti-Semitism, and violated Iran’s agreement on uranium enrichment with the EU-3. He has openly threatened the United States and its Western partners. In short, he has made obvious that the Iranian regime is a threat to the United States and its allies in Europe and the Middle East.

The regime has demonstrated its intent to develop nuclear weapons. Members of Congress and the Bush administration have said that the time for negotiation with Iran is over.

Can the Iranian nuclear threat be contained? Will Iran continue to sponsor terror with impunity? And will any solution to the nuclear nightmare require ignoring the regime’s repression at home?

On February 2, the day before the International Atomic Energy Agency met to refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council, AEI hosted a panel discussion to address these and other issues. READ MORE

The Honorable Stephen G. Rademaker
U.S. Department of State

There have been encouraging signs of international cooperation to stop Iran’s efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. Concern over Iran has been growing for years, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been on a bumpy road since November 2003.

There is little doubt that the regime’s concealment is for weapons development. Estimated investments range from $600 million to $1 billion, a sum of such magnitude that it would only be spent on weapons. IAEA inspectors found documents for machine casting uranium metal hemispheres, which are used only in weapons production. Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons is unacceptable, in part because of the possibility for a nuclear proliferation domino effect in the region.

The United States has supported the EU-3 diplomatic negotiations, and if the IAEA were to refer the issue to the UN Security Council, diplomacy would not be over. The Security Council should enhance the authority of the IAEA, and the United States should continue to work with others in order to pursue effective multilateralism regarding the threat of Iranian nuclear weapons.

Patrick Clawson
Washington Institute for Near East Policy

By tying the Islamic Revolution to Iranian nationalism, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is confronting the West in order to reinvigorate flagging religious fervor. Hard-liners in the Iranian regime see a second Islamic Revolution taking root in the Middle East, especially with the election of Hamas in the Palestinian territories. These Iranian elites believe that they can pursue nuclear weapons and confront the West with impunity for the following reasons: the West is dependent upon Iran for oil; America is preoccupied with Iraq and Afghanistan; and there is a division between the United States and Europe over the proper course of action in the region.

The West must find a way to raise the stakes in a manner that will convince Iran’s elite that pursuing nuclear weapons is against the country’s interests. This can only be achieved if Iran believes the West will take serious action to prevent a nuclear Iran. The Iranian people’s support for producing nuclear weapons is very shallow and is predicated on the assumption that obtaining these weapons would not have adverse consequences. The United States, then, must convince the Iranian people that a nuclear weapons program will be used to keep the theocracy in power and will not help Iran’s population.

George Perkovich
Carnegie Endowment

The decision to report Iran to the UN Security Council is an action that is more significant than it seems. The issue at hand is not Iran’s right to develop peaceful nuclear technologies, but bringing Iran into compliance with its Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) obligations, which requires oversight of their nuclear program. There are several aspects of Iran’s nuclear activity that the IAEA suspects are being undertaken solely for military purposes. However, it is unlikely that Iran will address these suspicions because that would be tantamount to an admission of guilt.

Time is on the side of those who wish to enforce the NPT. China and Russia both have an interest in maintaining international law, and both countries do not desire the proliferation of nuclear weapons. But the United States will succeed only if it takes the time to maintain its international coalition to press Iran to give up its nuclear weapons program.

Danielle Pletka
AEI

The international coalition that the Bush administration has been building, culminating in the recent referral of Iran to the UN Security Council, has only been achieved due to the outrageous statements and actions of Iranian president Ahmadinejad. The United States should push for all Security Council members to demand that Iran fulfill its NPT obligations. These demands must be tied to deadlines. A possible range of actions the Security Council could take includes: first, impose sanctions on the trade of civilian nuclear technologies and materials, and on oil equipment; second, impose travel restrictions on those known to be involved in Iran’s nuclear program; and third, freeze Iran’s ability to borrow from the World Bank.

While this would get the attention of the Iranian regime, a two-track strategy must be prepared. This includes the current diplomatic track as well as a track that places Iran on the Bush administration’s freedom agenda. The United States must support opposition parties and dissidents in Iran much more earnestly. Finally, the United States cannot support nuclear disarmament without concurrently pushing for liberalizing the regime.

The Honorable Sam Brownback (R-Kans.)
U.S. Senate

The United States and the international community should not tolerate the Iranian regime’s disregard for human rights and global security. The government denies its citizens basic rights, is rife with corruption, actively supports terrorist groups, and is developing a nuclear weapons program. The quest for a nuclear program is not about energy; it is being used to intimidate threats to Iranian power, to dominate the Middle East, and to threaten the United States and its allies, specifically Israel.

The United States must utilize a two-track approach to the Iranian crisis, challenging the regime both externally and internally. The U.S. government should appropriate more money to support democracy, freedom of the press, and human rights in Iran. The secretary of state should appoint a special envoy for human rights in Iran who can coordinate efforts by international organizations, regional entities, and nongovernmental organizations. The World Bank should stop lending money to Iran, which has received $1.1 billion in the past three years. Regime change in Iran can happen from within, and the people of Iran can champion their own future.

AEI interns David Ribner and Daniel Kaplow prepared this summary.

Watch the video of the panel discussion here.

Iran: Moscow Enrichment Proposal Dead

Guardian:

A senior Iranian official said Saturday that a proposal by Moscow to enrich Iranian uranium in Russia is dead following the U.N. nuclear agency's decision to report Iran to the Security Council.

Javad Vaeidi, deputy head of the powerful National Security Council, said there was no "adequate reason to pursue the Russian plan.''

"Commercial scale uranium enrichment will be resumed in Natanz (Iran) in accordance with the law passed by the parliament,'' Vaeidi told state television in a telephone interview from Vienna, Austria.

Rumsfeld: Iran Regime Sponsors Terrorism

The New York Times:

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld urged America's allies to increase their military spending to prevent the rise of a ''global extremist Islamic empire.'' He also urged the world to work for a ''diplomatic solution'' to halt Iran's nuclear program.

''The Iranian regime is today the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism,'' he said in prepared remarks. ''The world does not want, and must work together to prevent, a nuclear Iran.'' READ MORE

Rumsfeld was in Munich to address a defense conference focused on the relationship between America and its European allies.

The remarks came as the U.N. nuclear agency was meeting in Vienna, Austria to vote on a U.S.-backed proposal to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council over concerns Tehran may be developing nuclear weapons.

Rumsfeld said terrorists hope to use Iraq as the ''central front'' in their war, turning it into a training and recruitment area like they had done in Afghanistan under the Taliban. He warned ''a war has been declared on all of our nations'' and said their ''futures depend on determination and unity in the face of the terrorist threat.''

''We could choose to pretend, as some suggest, that the enemy is not at our doorstep. We could choose to believe, as some contend, that the threat is exaggerated.

''But those who would follow such a course must ask: what if they are wrong? What if at this moment, the enemy is counting on being underestimated, counting on being dismissed, and counting on our preoccupation,'' Rumsfeld said.

Rumsfeld was to follow German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the opening speeches on the second day of 42nd annual Munich security conference. In the past defense experts and policy-makers have used the prestigious gathering in southern Germany for frank exchanges.

Rumsfeld said violent extremism is a danger faced as much in Europe as in the United States.

''The struggle ahead promises to be a long war that will cause us all to recalibrate our strategies, perhaps further adjust our institutions, and certainly work closely together,'' he said.

He said Islamic militants are on the move and have to be checked.

''They seek to take over governments from North Africa to Southeast Asia and to re-establish a caliphate they hope, one day, will include every continent,'' he said. ''They have designed and distributed a map where national borders are erased and replaced by a global extremist Islamic empire.''

Likening the war on terror to the Cold War, Rumsfeld said the battle could be won if nations persevered. He invoked Merkel's own experience -- growing up in Communist East Germany to become chancellor of a unified Germany.

''Freedom prevailed because our free nations showed resolve when retreat would have been easier, and showed courage when concession seemed simpler,'' he said.

But he pointed out that the United States spends 3.7 percent of its Gross Domestic Product on national defense while 19 of the 25 other NATO nations spend less than 2 percent of their GDP on defense.

He did not name countries, but Germany, which spends 1.4 percent of its GDP on defense, and others have been under pressure to step up their funding.

''It may be easier for all of us to use our scarce tax dollars to meet urgent needs we all have at home,'' Rumsfeld said. ''But unless we invest in our defense and security, our homelands will be at risk.''

The mainstream media news reports cut out of his statement an important reference to the Iranian people. Rumsfeld also said:

"While we oppose the actions of Iran's regime, we stand with the Iranian people who want a peaceful, democratic future. They have no desire to see the country they love isolated from the rest of the civilized world."

Merkel: Ahmadinejad as Bad as Nazis

Peter Conradi, Times Online:

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, compared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran to Adolf Hitler yesterday as Tehran vowed to resume the enrichment of uranium which could be used to make nuclear weapons.

Amid growing fears that the Iranians are intent on acquiring an “Islamic bomb”, Merkel warned that the world must not repeat the mistakes it made in appeasing the Nazis.

“Looking back to German history in the early 1930s when National Socialism was on the rise, there were many outside Germany who said, ‘It’s only rhetoric — don’t get excited’,” Merkel told an international security conference in Munich.

“There were times when people could have reacted differently and, in my view, Germany is obliged to do something at the early stages,” she added. “We want to, we must prevent Iran from developing its nuclear programme.”

Merkel issued a blunt warning to Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel to be “wiped off the map”.

“Iran has blatantly crossed the red line,” she said. “I say it as a German chancellor. A president who questions Israel’s right to exist, a president who denies the Holocaust cannot expect to receive any tolerance from Germany.” READ MORE

The statement came as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog, voted overwhelmingly in Vienna to report Iran to the

UN Security Council, expressing doubts that the country’s nuclear programme “is exclusively for peaceful purposes”.

Iran responded by announcing that it would resume “commercial-scale” enrichment of uranium, the fuel for power plants or bombs, which was suspended in 2004. Ahmadinejad later ordered an end to spot checks by IAEA inspectors from today.

Tehran described as “dead” a compromise brokered by the Kremlin under which Russia would enrich uranium for Iran to the purity required for nuclear power but not weapons. Moscow insisted the deal was still on the table.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA described the vote — carried by 27 to three, with five abstentions — as a “historic mistake” and insisted his country would press on with its nuclear programme.

“We don’t want confrontation but we can tolerate some problems for the sake of principles that we are committed to,” he told The Sunday Times.

Soltanieh said it was not clear when enrichment would begin. In an apparent sign of confusion in Tehran an Iranian news agency which had said Ahmadinejad had given the order to start, immediately withdrew its report last night.

The escalation in the stand-off with Iran, the world’s fourth largest oil producer, seemed certain to drive energy prices higher on the markets tomorrow.

It will also raise fears that Tehran might respond by increasing support for militant Islamic groups in the Middle East, of which it is already a major financial backer.

Donald Rumsfeld, the American defence secretary, backed the German leader’s call for tougher action and accused Iran of being “the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism”.

Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar, his Iranian counterpart, rejected the charges as “ridiculous”.

It nevertheless postponed discussion of the issue at the Security Council until next month to give Iran a last chance to climb down. But the vehemence of Tehran’s initial reaction made this look unlikely.

It will now be up to the Security Council to decide what further action to take. It is expected to start by making a so-called “presidential statement” reinforcing the IAEA’s demands.

Diplomats said any tougher action, such as sanctions, were further down the line and would depend on Iran’s behaviour. China, a permanent member of the Security Council, opposes sanctions.

Calls for stronger measures were growing last night, however. At the Munich conference, the influential American senator John McCain said the military option could not be ruled out if diplomatic efforts failed to stop Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb. “Every option must remain on the table,” he said. “There’s only one thing worse than military action, that is a nuclear armed Iran.”

Iran Referred to UN Security Council

Telegraph:

The United Nations nuclear watchdog has voted 27 to three to report Iran to the UN Security Council over its resumption of nuclear activities. Teheran immediately reacted to the vote, saying it would curb UN inspections of its nuclear plants and pursue full-scale uranium enrichment.

Today's decision by the board of the 35-nation International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) marks a significant step on the road towards possible economic and political sanctions against Iran.

But no further action is expected until March, when Mohamed El Baradei, the IAEA chief, delivers a formal report on his inspectors' inquiries in Iran to the Security Council.

This delay is understood to have been a condition imposed by two of the Security Council members - China and Russia - in return for their support for referral, which they had previously opposed.

Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, said that the IAEA vote showed "the international community's determination to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East".

He said the vote in Vienna gave Iran several weeks to defuse the crisis by suspending uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities. If they failed to do so, action by the Security Council would be "almost inevitable", he warned.

Tehran insists that the uranium enrichment activities which it restarted in December in breach of its international obligations is part of a civil nuclear energy programme.

But there are widespread concerns that Iran is seeking to develop a military nuclear capability.

Javed Vaeidi, deputy Iranian nuclear negotiator, said that Iran would stop honouring an agreement with the IAEA allowing its inspectors broad powers to monitor and probe Tehran's nuclear activities.

Twenty-seven IAEA members voted in favour of referral. Only three nations — Cuba, Syria and Venezuela — voted against. Five others — Algeria, Belarus, Indonesia, Libya and South Africa — abstained. READ MORE