 POTSDAM, Germany - Major industrial nations threatened on Wednesday to support “further appropriate measures” if Iran failed to comply with UN resolutions demanding that it suspend nuclear enrichment.
IranÂ’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani reiterated that he would not give in to demands that his country suspend uranium enrichment over fears it is developing nuclear weapons. Larijani is due to hold talks on Thursday with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana amid a long-running argument between Iran and the West over the Islamic RepublicÂ’s nuclear programme. Diplomats do not expect a breakthrough.
| Nor do we at Rantburg. Solana and Larijani will do their dance and then have a nice lunch. |
“If Iran continues to ignore demands of the Security Council, we will support further appropriate measures as agreed in Resolution 1747,” the Group of Eight (G8) foreign ministers said in a statement issued at a meeting in Potsdam, Germany. The G8 statement also expressed “deep regret that Iran, as we saw in the latest report by the director general of the (International Atomic Energy Agency), has continued to expand its enrichment activities”.
Security Council resolution 1747 gave Tehran a 60-day deadline to freeze all enrichment work. Iran ignored the deadline, which expired last week.
| Gee. No kidding. The Iranians ignored a toothless resolution from an irresolute organization, and nothing happened in response. |
The term “appropriate measures” is widely seen as diplomatic code for pretense and dithering sanctions. The Council has already imposed two rounds of sanctions on Iran for failing to suspend uranium enrichment, a process of purifying uranium for power plants or weapons.
| Worked well so far, hasn't it? |
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