Europeans Ready To Give Iran a Nuclear Reactor

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

UNITED NATIONS – In a last-ditch effort to offer an incentive package for Iran in return for suspension of its uranium enrichment program, European negotiators are ready to provide the mullahs with a light water nuclear reactor. To date, Tehran steadfastly has refused any offer that would infringe on what it sees as its “right” to carry out its own enrichment.

The European offer, floated by Vienna-based diplomats yesterday, has yet to receive support from Washington, which wants any set of incentives offered to Iran to be accompanied by a threat of punitive measures in case of non-cooperation. Meanwhile, Russia and China are unconvinced that economic sanctions or military action are needed to enforce compliance with the Security Council.

A similar set of issues is expected to be discussed today at the Security Council during a separate vote on an American- and European-backed resolution regarding Lebanon’s independence. The new resolution, strongly opposed by Syria, is widely expected to be adopted. Russia, China, and the Arab representative on the council, Qatar, however, may abstain, several diplomats told The New York Sun.

And in a hint of a power play unique to the U.N. structure, a council member that usually joins Europe and America, Argentina, might go with Russia and China and also abstain from today’s vote on Lebanon, the diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. Syria serves as deputy chairman of a Turtle Bay decolonization committee, and it has threatened Argentina, saying if it supports the Lebanon resolution, Argentina’s presence in the Malvinas, also known as the Falkland Islands, might be raised at the committee.

The proposed council resolution calls on all countries “mentioned in the report” to avoid interfering in Lebanon’s affairs. Secretary-General Annan’s recent report included a reference to Iran’s meddling in Lebanon. In a seeming pre-emptive strike, President Ahmadinejad yesterday said the Islamic Republic seeks to expand its ties with Lebanon, according to IRNA.

On the nuclear issue, America and its European allies recently attempted to pass a resolution under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which is enforceable and allows for punitive measures in cases of noncompliance. The proposed resolution met strong Russian and Chinese objections, however, during a meeting of foreign ministers at Turtle Bay last week.

A package of unspecified “incentives,” meant to convince Iran to suspend its domestic enrichment program, was then offered by Britain, France, and Germany. Yesterday diplomats posted at the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said the package might include the offer to supply Iran with a light water reactor, intended for civilian use. “Clearly we are working out the details and that will be a matter for the talks in London,” a British Foreign Office spokesman told the Associated Press.

The Iranian threat is expected to be high on the agenda this week in Israel, during a visit there by the French foreign minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, that is intended to revive the friendship between the two countries. Mr. Ahmadinejad has threatened to wipe Israel off the map, and Paris shares Jerusalem’s and Washington’s suspicion of Iran’s nuclear intentions.

“The issue is that they, through their actions and decade’s worth of obfuscation and lying to the international community, have eroded the trust down to zero,” a State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, said yesterday. “We, and others, do not want the Iranian regime to have the ability to master [the] critical pathways to a nuclear weapon.” He did not say whether Washington would support the proposed incentives in the European package.

America’s U.N. ambassador, John Bolton, said such support will depend on “disincentives” as well. “It will be only when the entire package of both halves is put together, I think, that we’ll be prepared to offer an opinion,” he said.

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said yesterday that Mr. Ahmadinejad will be invited to attend a summit meeting next month in Shanghai of leaders from Russia, China, and four Central Asian countries, according to the AP. “We cannot isolate Iran or exert pressure on it. Far from resolving this issue of proliferation, it will make it more urgent,” he said.

“Russia and China will not vote for the use of force in resolving this issue,” Mr. Lavrov said. Last week, however, he dismissed as “hypothetical” a question by the Sun whether his country will cast a “no” vote on the proposed resolution, which implied sanctions or military action. A “no” vote by any permanent council members, including Russia and China, would amount to a veto of any proposed resolution.


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