Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- The Russian ambassador to the UN says a revised draft resolution on Iran’s nuclear programs needs more work.
The United States and the European drafters of the resolution — Germany, Britain, and France — were hoping for a vote today.
But Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said more discussions on the draft were likely today, with a vote possible on December 23.
“The effort now is to make sure that this is clear in the text of the resolution and that the things which have nothing to do with those areas of activities, those [other] parts of the Iranian nuclear program, are effected by this resolution,” Churkin said.
The resolution demands Iran end uranium-enrichment work. To this end, it bans imports and exports of materials and technology used in uranium enrichment, as well as ballistic-missile systems.
On December 23, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hinted on Washington may offer some changes to the draft, but added that the resolution will be harsh.
“I am quite satisfied and quite certain that the resolution that will be adopted will be one that both says to Iran, ‘You cannot defy the international community,’ and imposes penalties on Iran for that defiance,” Rice told journalists.
Iran says it is pursuing nuclear power for peaceful means while the West claims, its research is a cover for a nuclear-weapons program. West has never presented any substantiating evidence in this regard.
