TEHERAN - Iranian lawmakers on Sunday voted to oblige their government to stop allowing snap UN checks of atomic sites and to resume uranium enrichment if Teheran is sent to the UN Security Council. In the vote, broadcast live on state radio, 183 out of 197 lawmakers present voted for the bill. | The other 14 were detained and haven't been heard from since. |
Iran faces referral to New York for possible sanctions after failing to convince the world its atomic scientists are focusing on power stations rather than warheads. The board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will meet in Vienna on Thursday to decide on what steps to take with Iranâs case.
| Oh yeah, they're going to get right on it ... |
Lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of parliamentâs foreign policy and security commission, exhorted opposition parliamentarians from the reformist camp to show a united front in the national interest. âThis is not a factional, political issue it is a national issue,â he said in the debate.
The bill calls for Iranâs government to stop following the Additional Protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which allows snap UN checks of atomic sites. It also calls on Iran to resume all activities that it stopped voluntarily. Foremost among these is the moratorium on enriching uranium.
Despite Western pressure on it to halt nuclear activity, Iran earlier this week said it had begun processing a new batch of uranium. Iran insists on developing its own nuclear fuel cycle to produce fuel for power stations.
| The sound you hear is the lips falling off. |
Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of Iranâs Atomic Energy Organisation, attended the parliament meeting and said the bill gave a clear message to the IAEA. âIf the board of governors transgresses peopleâs rights, nations are entitled to preserve their rights,â he said.
| Sorta like how Saddam had to preserve the 'national dignity' of Iraq ... |