Russia opposes referring Iran over nukes
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-06 10:13

Russia opposes referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.

Moscow "does not see any basis for transferring the question, which the IAEA is dealing with actively and productively, to the Security Council," the ministry said in a statement.

Britain, Germany and France, negotiating on behalf of the 25-nation European Union, have said they may get involved in drafting the language of a resolution demanding Iran be referred to the Security Council if Tehran does not soon stop uranium conversion.

The EU powers have set a deadline of Sept. 19, the date of a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

China, also a Security Council member, also opposes bringing Iran before the council and could use its veto power to block any resolution to punish Iran.

Iranian officials said over the weekend the country will continue uranium reprocessing despite Europe's threat. The United States claims Iran's nuclear program is aimed at building nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies.

International attention has focused on the Uranium Conversion Facility in Isfahan in central Iran, where Tehran last month resumed activities related to the conversion of uranium concentrate ore — known as yellowcake — into hexaflouride gas, the feedstock for enrichment.

Enriched to a low level, uranium can be used to produce nuclear fuel used to generate electricity. Further enrichment makes it suitable for use in nuclear weapons.

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