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International community throws weight behind diplomacy

Posted on: Mon March 08, 2010

TEHRAN: World powers will fail to reach a consensus on imposing new sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear programme, the foreign ministry predicted on Sunday.    

Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told the official IRNA news agency that the P5+1 group, comprising the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council and Germany, would not succeed in imposing sanctions on Tehran. Since the principle of sanctions regarding Iran s peaceful nuclear activity lacks a logical and legal basis and is being pursued with political intentions by some countries, it is natural that sanctions will not materialise, Mehmanparast said. The United States has stepped up pressure to generate international backing for a fourth round of UN sanctions against Iran. Western governments are losing patience with Iran for rejecting a UN-brokered nuclear fuel deal and for enriching uranium the most controversial part of Tehran s atomic programme to higher levels.    

While the United States, France, Britain and Russia appear to favour sanctions, China, which has large oil interests in Iran, continues to strongly advocate diplomacy to resolve the crisis. A defiant Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and is already under three sets of UN sanctions for enriching uranium, which the West sees as a cover to build nuclear weapons. On Thursday, Western nations pitched new sanctions against Iran in the Security Council.    

New sanctions would show that the international community is united behind a diplomatic resolution to Iran s nuclear issue, and stave off any pre-emptive moves by others, Britain s UN envoy Mark Lyall Grant said.    

The envoy told the 15-member council that additional sanctions should be smart and effective and should target areas with an impact on the regime s policy calculations. Israel and the United States have not ruled out the use of military force against the Islamic republic.

Meanwhile, Iran said on Sunday it has launched a new production line of highly accurate, short range cruise missiles, which would add a new element to the country s already imposing arsenal. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi told Iranian state TV that the cruise missile, called Nasr 1, would be capable of destroying targets up to 3,000 tons in size.     The minister said the missile can be launched from the surface but would eventually be modified to be fired from helicopters and submarines.    

The world is already concerned about Iran s military capabilities, especially the implications of its nuclear programme. The US and some of its allies, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency, say Iran is apparently trying to produce nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.    

Iran also has an array of missiles from short to medium range that could hit targets including Israel, US military bases in the region and much of Europe.

Courtesy : The News