WORLD / Middle East
France says Iran will face sanctions
(AP)
Updated: 2006-12-06 16:36
PARIS - The French foreign minister said Wednesday that Iran will face UN
sanctions for refusing to halt its nuclear program but that major world
powers remain divided over their extent.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary and cheif neuclear
negotiator Ali Larijani speaks during the second day of the Arab Strategy
Forum in the Gulf emirate of Dubai. Six world powers meeting in Paris
said they had failed to agree what sanctions to impose over Iran's
refusal to halt sensitive nuclear work, as diplomats said that Russia was
blocking a deal. [AFP]
"The question is about the scope of sanctions but there will be
sanctions," Philippe Douste-Blazy said on RTL radio. His ministry said
Tuesday that closed-door talks in Paris had made "substantive progress"
but failed to reach an accord on a resolution to punish Iran for defying
demands that it cease enriching uranium.
Iran's hard-line president threatened to downgrade relations with the
25-nation European Union if tough sanctions emerged from the talks among
diplomats from the permanent Security Council members - the United
States, Britain, China, France and Russia - as well as Germany and the EU.
After months of diplomatic wrangling, the United States and France had
hoped Tuesday's talks would produce a resolution imposing sanctions on
Iran for defying an Aug. 31 UN deadline to halt enrichment. Western
powers accuse Iran of seeking nuclear bombs, while Tehran insists it only
wants civilian nuclear energy.
Still, a top European diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the talks, said Russia, which has sided
with Iran on many points, made some concessions at Tuesday's talks. The
Russians agreed to a measure prohibiting financial transfers to
"problematic" Iranians linked to nuclear or ballistic missile programs,
the diplomat said.
Russia still opposes the broader asset freeze that Britain, France and
Germany proposed in a draft UN resolution presented in October, the
diplomat said.
The discussions now move to the United Nations in New York. The Americans
and Europeans are pushing for a resolution by the end of the year.
"We are coming up to the time (when) the credibility of the UN is at
stake," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington
before the Paris talks.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Tuesday to stick by the
nuclear program and issued a new threat to downgrade relations with the
EU if European negotiators opted for tough sanctions. He gave no details
on how ties might be downgraded. The EU is Iran's biggest trading partner.
The Russians also remained resistant to a measure expanding the powers of
the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor Iran's nuclear program,
considering that a "provocation" to Iran, the European diplomat said.
The draft resolution would exempt a nuclear power plant being built by
the Russians in Iran, but not the nuclear fuel needed for the reactor.
Russia wants to remove any mention of the Bushehr reactor.
Washington's patience had appeared to be wearing thin.
When asked Tuesday when he expected Russia and China to begin supporting
the resolution, the American participant in the discussions,
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, replied: "This afternoon would be
a good time."
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