Europe says Iran nuke talks have stalled
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-13 08:42

Nuclear proliferation expert Francois Gere, who heads the French Institute of Strategic Analysis, said few options existed for punishing Iran and the Iranians know it. The French, he said, were still looking at diplomatic solutions short of sanctions. "There is absolutely no discussion of punishment for the moment in the French approach," he said.

Key to efforts to take action against Iran are Russia and China, traditional allies with Tehran who hold veto power in the Security Council and could thwart efforts to punish the Islamic republic.

Moscow and Beijing have previously opposed taking the issue to the Security Council but have shown increasing impatience with Tehran during the latest standoff.

Russian experts are helping build a nuclear reactor at Bushehr in Iran, and China is a major customer for Iranian oil and gas. And sanctions that restrict Iran's ability to sell oil could raise already high oil prices, hurting Western economies.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attends a meeting with Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki at the State Department in Washington January 12, 2006. [AP]

An Iranian official said the issue could still be resolved through diplomacy.

Supreme National Security Council spokesman, Hossein Entezami, said in a statement broadcast on state television that Iran's program remained within the IAEA framework and urged the Europeans not to challenge the Iranian people's demand for nuclear energy or to stall diplomatic channels by what he called "their unwise decisions."

Avid issued a stronger warning against referral later Thursday.

"It forces Iran to feel it is in an emergency and it contributes to hard-line policies," Avid said.

Rice declined to spell out what moves the Security Council could take even as she called on it to deal with Iran's "defiance."

"It is very clear that everyone believes a very important threshold has been cleared," Rice said.

The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, said during an appearance before the Aspen Institute in Berlin that Iran should follow the example of Libya, which gave up its nuclear program under international pressure.

"Iran holds the key in its own hands as to what is going to happen," Bolton said. "By taking the matter to the Security Council, I think we change the political dynamic and increase the pressure on Iran.

He declined to comment on the possibility of sanctions.

The Security Council is most likely to ratchet up the pressure gradually, starting with a condemnation of the country and demanding that Iran comply with IAEA decisions.

Russia, the United States, the European Union and China are to discuss the issue further in London next week.

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