Iran increasingly isolated on nuclear issue: Rice

Washington, Apr 13: United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on the UN Security Council to take ''strong steps'' in response to Iran's claim of having successfully encriched a small quantity of uranium, if the Council wants to maintain its credibility.

Ms Rice yesterday warned that Iran's claim of having successfully enriched a small quantity of uranium will lead only to its further isolation in the international community.

Although, Ms Rice took a strong line, in condemning Iran's defiance, she did not call for an emergency meeting of the Council, saying it should consider action after receiving an IAEA report by April 28.

Ms Rice said Iran's defiance of calls that it stop uranium enrichment will require strong action by the UN Security Council.

However, she did not elaborate on what measures the US would support, but economic and political sanctions are under consideration, she added.

''I do think the Security Council will need to take into consideration this move by Iran and that it will be the time when it reconvenes on this case with strong steps to make certain that we maintain the credibility of the international community on this issue,'' Ms Rice told reporters at the State Department.

Ms Rice's comments added to a growing chorus of international concern about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's assertion that Iran was moving toward enriching uranium on an industrial scale for what Tehran says are peaceful purposes.

She said, ''the Iranian leader's statement is just a step that will further isolate the Tehran government.'' She also said, ''the Bush administration would be steady in its diplomatic track on the Iranian nuclear issue, because it believes that concerted and coherent diplomatic policy will convince the Iranians to return to compliance with international demands.'' Earlier this week, administration officials downplayed news reports the administration was contemplating military action against Iran, though saying no options had been foreclosed.

Iran's announcement of its nuclear achievement came less than two weeks after the Security Council issued a unanimous presidential statement calling on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment and to cooperate with the efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to verify the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program.

''It demonstrates that Iran is not adhering to the international community's requirements,'' Ms Rice said.

''If Iran does not comply with the demand in the presidential statement we adopted on March 28 to come into compliance with the existing IAEA resolutions, we would consider at that point a resolution under chapter VII which would make the IAEA resolutions binding on Iran'' US Ambassador John Bolton told reporters at the United Nations, where representatives of the five permanent members of the Security Council had gathered for a previously scheduled meeting.

A Chapter VII resolution, which deals with threats to peace, could include enforcement provisions allowing for sanctions or the use of military force in the event, if, Iran fails to comply.

According to Mr Bolton all five permanent members of the council -- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States -- have made it clear that they do not want to see Iran with nuclear weapons.

Uranium enrichment is the key to both -- nuclear fuel cycle and the production of nuclear weapons. The concentration of radioactive isotopes in a uranium compound can produce material suitable to fire nuclear power plants or, at higher concentrations, to produce nuclear bombs. Ms Rice said, ''it is the latter possibility that worries the international community.'' ''This is not a question of Iran's right to civil nuclear power.

This is a question the world does not believe that Iran should have the capability and the technology that could lead to a nuclear weapon,'' she said.

Ms Rice said, ''the US would continue working to bring the international community into agreement on a diplomatic solution to the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program.'' ''We are going to be steady in our diplomatic track here because we believe that a concerted and coherent diplomatic policy that the world is behind will convince the Iranians that they have to come back into compliance with what the international community is demanding of them,'' she said.

Iran's Deputy Nuclear Chief Mohammad Saeedi yesterday said his country has long-range plans to use 54,000 centrifuges to make fuel for a key nuclear reactor. His comments came amid signs of growing international alarm at Iran's claim to have enriched uranium in 164 centrifuges to a level used in nuclear power plants.

''There are certainly a number of different possibilities and we are focused on the Security Council and on diplomacy,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said while replying questions on the issue.

Regarding the help Iran got out of the A Q Khan network in Pakistan, White House Spokesman Scott McClellan said, ''First of all, the A Q Khan network has been broken up. We worked with the international community and made some significant progress in stopping the proliferation of nuclear programs and weapons of mass destruction.''

''And we saw the announcement made by Libya and the direction they chose to take. They made a strategic decision to get rid of their weapons of mass destruction program and sent a message to others that they can realise better relations, if they make that strategic decision,'' he added.

Replying a question on ''how do we know how much they have it now, since we don't have any direct access to A Q Khan,'' the spokesman said, ''we work very closely with Pakistan and will continue to do so when it comes to intelligence matters.''

UNI

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