World powers deadlocked over Iran

05/09/2006

NEW YORK (CNN)—World powers meeting in New York have failed to reach an agreement on a United Nations resolution on Iran and will probably not have a text this week, a senior State Department official said.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her counterparts from Russia, Britain, France, China and Germany, along with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, met for three hours Monday in what was described by Rice’s aides as a “strategic discussion” on how to deal with Iran.

A senior State Department official said the ministers discussed long-term goals in dealing with Iran, not the text of a U.N. resolution now being considered.

The talks also addressed Iran’s support for terrorism and the government’s human rights record.

The official said there was wide agreement that Iran should not acquire a nuclear weapon, should suspend its uranium enrichment program and should cooperate with the IAEA and return to negotiations. There was no agreement on the contents of a Security Council resolution.

“I think the prospects for an agreement this week are not substantially good,” the official said. “Clearly we had a ways to go.”

The official said the nations’ political directors will meet on Wednesday and possibly again next week in Europe.

Iran refused to comply with a presidential statement from the U.N. Security Council that called on it to suspend its production of enriched uranium, which can be used as fuel in civilian nuclear plants or—in much higher concentrations—to produce a nuclear bomb.

The Security Council is now considering a resolution that would demand Tehran give up its production of nuclear fuel or face penalties that could include economic sanctions.

The United States, Britain and France want a resolution under Chapter 7 of the United Nations charter, which would compel Tehran under international law.

But two of the veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, Russia and China, have said they oppose sanctions and are even balking at passing the resolution under Chapter 7.

The senior official said that Rice described the Iran issue as a test for the Security Council. She said the United States was only prepared to continue supporting the diplomatic process if the Council takes responsibility and makes clear to Iran there is a price to pay for failing to comply with international demands.

Washington is working to amass a coalition of willing states to impose sanctions against Iran if U.N. diplomacy fails.

Letter to Bush

The ministers also discussed a letter sent to President Bush by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which was dismissed by both the White House and the State Department for failing to address the nuclear issue.

“There are a number of concerns that the international community has with the regime, and the letter doesn’t appear to do anything to address those concerns,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters as President Bush headed to a fund-raising appearance in south Florida.

Iranian officials said Ahmadinejad’s letter proposed “new ways” to end the nuclear dispute, which is now before the U.N. Security Council. It’s believed to be the first correspondence between the presidents of Iran and the United States since 1980, when Washington broke off ties with Tehran over the seizure of American hostages in the U.S. Embassy after the overthrow of the U.S.-backed shah.

Senior administration officials said Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley had reviewed the letter, which State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called “a broad, historical, philosophical exposition.”

“Nothing in the letter addresses the issues on the table between Iran and the world, whether that is on the nuclear issue, terrorism, or human rights,” McCormack said.

No details of Ahmadinejad’s letter have been released. During a Monday visit to Turkey, Iran’s chief negotiator, Ali Larijani, said the letter would be made public after it had “enough time to go through the proper diplomatic channels.”

“This letter is very important, and it addresses important regional as well as world issues,” Larijani said. “And if looked at carefully, it will lead to a change in the behavior of powers that cause trouble in the region.”

But the senior State Department official briefing reporters late Monday described the 17-page letter as merely a “long philosophical discourse of the view of the world from Tehran” and was “heavily religious” in tone.

The letter was sent to Bush through the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.

‘Bullying behavior’

Iran argues it is legally entitled under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to produce enriched uranium for nuclear power plants. But the United States suspects Iran is working toward producing nuclear weapons, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has urged Iran to extend greater cooperation to U.N. inspectors to resolve questions about its intentions.

Larijani criticized the “bullying behavior” of some countries—a reference to the U.S. refusal to rule out military action against Iran. Top Bush administration officials have said Iran should not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.

“Adventurous powers have chosen the wrong path to resolve this problem and are taking steps in the wrong direction,” Larijani said. “Under these conditions, they should not expect any resolutions in their favor.”

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, speaking to reporters after the dinner, said the ministers discussed possible carrots and sticks: “incentives” as well as “dissuasive measures according to the Iranian response.”

“Either Iran cooperates and the international community is ready to make ambitious proposals, first in the area of civilian nuclear energy, then in the commercial domain, in the technological domain and, why not, in the area of security,” said Douste-Blazy. “Or Iran has a closed attitude and in such a case the international community will propose dissuasive methods.”

Many countries have suggested the United States should join negotiations with Iran, but the senior official briefing reporters said that the Washington would not participate in any direct talks with Iran on the nuclear issue.

He added that the United States was not prepared to offer Iran any security guarantees in exchange for curbing its nuclear ambitions.