US and Allies Push to Refer Iran to UN Security Council

The United States, Britain, France and Germany are pressing other countries on the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to support a resolution next week that would refer Iran to the UN Security Council.

This would be the first such move in 20 years. The dispute centers primarily on inspectors' access to Iranian nuclear facilities that were damaged or destroyed in Israeli and US attacks.

Since then, Iran has not allowed IAEA inspectors to return to the affected sites or to verify the remaining stockpiles of enriched uranium. It has enriched some of this uranium to 60%, just a short step from the level used in nuclear weapons.

The IAEA estimates that significantly more than 200 kg of such enriched uranium survived the bombing and is located in a tunnel complex in Isfahan and at the Natanz facility.

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and that it will never produce nuclear weapons. Negotiations on the exact wording of the draft resolution are still ongoing.

(Reuters, mja)