| |
| |
![]() |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
WASHINGTON : President George W. Bush warned Thursday that the United States would push for new UN sanctions against Iran if the Islamic republic refuses to rein in its suspect nuclear programme.
"If we're unable to make progress with the Iranians, we want to work together to implement new sanctions through the United Nations," Bush told a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The United States would "continue to make it clear that Iran with a nuclear weapon is not in the interest of peace in the world," Bush said.
The United Nations has already adopted two resolutions imposing sanctions on Iran for defying calls to halt its sensitive uranium enrichment work.
In March the UN Security Council gave Iran a further 60 days to suspend enrichment or face further punitive measures, with the latest deadline set to expire next week.
The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is also to issue a May 23 report on Tehran's nuclear work which could lead to further sanctions.
Diplomats said Tuesday that UN weapons inspectors had confirmed that Iran appears to be making progress toward building 3,000 centrifuges, which could allow it to process enough nuclear material to build one atomic bomb per year.
But Bush was speaking as cracks are beginning to show in international unity over sanctions.
"The fact that Iran continues to move forward in defiance of the international community's wishes and in defiance of these efforts is only proof to us that we need to continue to move forward with our policy," US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said this week.
"We need to continue to apply pressure, and in fact increase pressure with an additional Security Council resolution, if in fact they don't comply and don't change their minds," he said.
But with European allies are beginning to question the usefulness of pursuing sanctions.
If the strategy fails to produce clear-cut results within the next few months "it will be necessary to ask how we go forward," one diplomatic source, who did not rule out military action.
Officially, France, Great Britain and Germany are on record as rejecting military action against Tehran, and Russia and China are even more emphatic in opposing force -- an option which Washington does not rule out.
The issue was likely to come up at a meeting in Germany at the end of month of global finance chiefs.
- AFP /ls
|
