By DPA
Washington : The US pledged to move forward on plans to introduce a sanctions resolution on Iran at the UN Security Council following a UN report that the Islamic state has provided truthful information about its nuclear activities.
“The United States is going to continue to work with our partners on the UN Security Council… on a third set of Security Council sanctions,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Thursday, adding that Iranian cooperation has only been “selective”.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ body for nuclear monitoring, issued a report Thursday saying Iran has provided honest information about its nuclear history but that the body did not have sufficient knowledge of more recent atomic work.
“This report indicates that Iran continues to defy the international community and two unanimous UN Security Council resolutions,” Perino said.
The IAEA said Iran has continued its uranium enrichment programme in defiance of the Security Council, which has twice placed limited sanctions on Iran for failing to halt the programme, which could be used to develop a nuclear weapon.
The Iranians “have answered some questions about their past activities, but these are partial answers,” US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. “I don’t think the world is prepared to give Iran partial credit on a test involving whether or not they’re developing nuclear weapons.”
The US has been working with the four other permanent members of the Security Council – Britain, China, France and Russia – along with Germany to come up with a new resolution, but has faced resistance from Beijing and Moscow.
President George W. Bush has announced that the US is willing to hold high-level talks with Iran for the first time in 28 years to negotiate a solution to the dispute but only if Iran suspends uranium enrichment – a condition Tehran rejects.
Iran has denied its nuclear ambitions are weapon related, but maintains it has a right to enrich uranium for generating nuclear power.
McCormack raised questions about Iran’s sincerity in cooperating with the IAEA, saying it has only come about because of the international pressure being placed on Iran. Bush in October ordered US sanctions against three Iranian banks in an attempt to isolate them from the international finance community.
“Then (the Iranians) feel like they’re cornered, they’re going to try to make some really surface-level concessions to the international community to give the appearance of trying to cooperate with the international community,” McCormack said.
The IAEA released its nine-page report to its 35-nation board of governors at its Vienna headquarters. The agency’s director, Mohamed ElBaradei, said Iran has been “reactive, rather than proactive” in coming clean about its nuclear activities.
The IAEA confirmed Iranian claims that it had expanded its uranium enrichment programme. Uranium enriched at relatively low levels can be used as fuel for atomic energy but must be at much higher concentrations for use in a weapon.