EU-3 circulate reworked Iran UN sanctions draft

PARIS, Nov 28 (Reuters) European powers have circulated a fresh draft UN Security Council resolution to China, Russia and the United States on sanctions against Iran over its refusal to stop enriching uranium, France said today.

The United States and its European allies suspect Iran's civilian nuclear energy programme is a cover for building a bomb, something the Islamic Republic denies.

''The general philosophy of the text remains the same, that is to target the Iranian nuclear and ballistic programme as well as the entities that run them and the individuals in charge of them,'' French Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei told a news conference in Paris.

The reworked European Union draft, drawn up by Britain, France and Germany -- known as the ''EU3'' -- aims mainly to meet concerns raised by Russia, a European diplomat in New York said.

British UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry told reporters it was premature to say there was a deal and US Ambassador John Bolton declined all comment.

In Washington, a Western diplomatic source said the new draft removed all reference to Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor, which is being built by Russia, and considerably weakened the package of sanctions, as Moscow had demanded.

The source said the United States recognised that prospects were dim for a tough resolution against Iran.

Washington, the source said, was now working for the resolution to be under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter -- making compliance with it mandatory -- with the hope of tougher action later. ''It's not a matter of what the sanctions say but whether this is a Chapter 7 resolution,'' the source said.

CLEAR MESSAGE But an EU3 diplomat in Vienna, headquarters of the UN nuclear watchdog agency which has been probing Iran's programme since 2003, said it ''would be really a misunderstanding to talk about 'watering down' or 'weakening' the package'.

''In reality we all agree to send a clear message to Iran that its refusal to engage carries a price, but that our objective is to re-engage them, not to drive them into a corner,'' the diplomat told Reuters.

The EU draft seen by Reuters two weeks ago would require that nations prevent the sale or supply of any equipment, technology or financing that would contribute to Iran's nuclear or ballistic missile programmes.

But Russia said then that it wanted sanctions to focus only on ''enrichment-related and reprocessing activities'', heavy water reactors and development of ''nuclear-weapon delivery systems''.

Russia crossed out all mention of Bushehr, arguing that the plant is legal and does not contribute to proliferation.

It also submitted amendments deleting European demands for a freeze of assets abroad and travel bans against individuals, businesses and groups connected with the nuclear programme.

Mattei said the ongoing diplomatic contacts were informal and that senior officials were in constant touch on the matter.

He could not say when they would next meet in person.

The European diplomat said political directors from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the United States were expected to meet this week to discuss the draft.

A date has not yet been set.

REUTERS KR RK2345