VIENNA — The board of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog is expected to approve a resolution today repeating calls for Iran to stop its uranium enrichment program and setting a deadline for compliance.
But the text is far weaker than the U.S. had sought. Convinced that Iran is secretly pursuing a nuclear weapons program, U.S. diplomats have been trying for more than a year to persuade the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors to refer the issue to the United Nations Security Council, which can impose sanctions.
American negotiators came to the meeting of the 35-nation board Monday hoping to present Iran with an ultimatum: Clear up remaining questions about the nuclear program by Oct. 31 or face automatic referral to the Security Council.
But a week of intense negotiations resulted in a diluted resolution without an explicit deadline or penalty. It calls on Iran to "immediately suspend all enrichment activities" and to provide a full accounting of its nuclear program before the board's next meeting, on Nov. 25, when it will decide "whether or not further steps are appropriate."
IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei appealed to Iran to halt its enrichment activities voluntarily.
"At this delicate stage of our investigations it would be in the interest of Iran to do its utmost to create confidence," he told reporters Friday.
Objections to the resolution from some of the board's 35 member countries will force a rare vote today, but the resolution is expected to pass. Previous resolutions on Iran were adopted by consensus.
A major point of contention is Iran's efforts to enrich uranium. The United States and the European Union wanted the text to demand that Iran freeze all enrichment-related activities, but the nonaligned nations desired a statement that all countries have the right to enrich uranium to fulfill energy needs. The compromise resolution includes both.
That ambiguity gives Iran a grace period to voluntarily suspend its enrichment program, but portends a showdown in November if it doesn't.
Hossein Mousavian, head of Iran's delegation to the IAEA, said he expected the Iranian government to decide within a few days whether it would comply with the agency's demand for a total suspension of enrichment.
