25 November 2003

U.S. is "Very Satisfied" With Draft IAEA Resolution on Iran, Says Powell

Text promises international action if Iran fails to meet IAEA obligations

By Stephen Kaufman
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Senior U.S. officials have welcomed an agreement with European colleagues on a draft International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Board of Governors resolution warning Iran over its nuclear program.

The resolution, reached after five days of talks in Vienna between the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, will be discussed by the IAEA Board of Governors on November 26.

Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters in Washington November 25 that the resolution stipulates that if there is any future indication that Iran is not meeting obligations set by the IAEA, "action will be forthcoming."

The draft resolution notes that Iran has repeatedly failed over time to "meet its obligations under the Safeguards Agreement with respect to the reporting of nuclear material, and its processing and use, as well as the declaration of facilities where such material has been processed and stored."

It adds that "should any further serious Iranian failures come to light, the Board of Governors would meet immediately to consider, in the light of the circumstances and of advice from the Director General, all options at its disposal, in accordance with the IAEA Statute and Iran's Safeguards Agreement."

Powell said the United States is "very satisfied with that resolution."

White House Deputy Press Secretary Claire Buchan described the text as "appropriate." She told the press aboard Air Force One November 25 that the United States "will look to the IAEA to have a resolution that emphasizes the seriousness of Iran's failures to comply, that warns Iran of the consequences of further non-compliance, and that also underscores the requirement for continued thorough IAEA investigation of Iran."

At the November 25 State Department briefing, Spokesman Richard Boucher said the Bush administration's goal is to "get Iran to comply with its own promises and commitments, to get Iran to comply with its safeguards requirements, and to get Iran to satisfy the international community that they're not engaging anymore in a nuclear weapons-related program."

If the resolution is followed fully, said Boucher, "then Iran would be ending its programs that have caused so much concern among the international community. That's the goal."

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)