U.N. may demand Iran halt programs

UNITED NATIONS — A proposed U.N. Security Council resolution calls on Iran to promptly suspend much of its nuclear program or face the prospect of economic and diplomatic sanctions, council diplomats said Tuesday.

The draft resolution demands that Iran stop enriching uranium and building a nuclear reactor that produces plutonium. Both can be used to make nuclear weapons.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton told reporters "the resolution would require Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing activities" but gave no other details.

He said Russia and China, Iran's closest allies on the council, were not prepared to discuss the substance of the draft at a meeting Tuesday. He expressed hope that substantive talks could begin on Wednesday.

A diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity because the draft has not yet been circulated to all council members said it calls for the International Atomic Energy Agency — the U.N. nuclear watchdog — and other international experts to verify the suspension and report on Iran's compliance.

No time frame for the report has been decided but the diplomat said it would be about 30 days.

If Iran does not comply, the draft states, the council will follow up under Article 41 of Chapter 7 in the U.N. Charter, which allows punishments that do not involve the use of armed force, such as economic sanctions, banning air travel or breaking diplomatic relations.

A senior Iranian lawmaker said that the country's parliament was preparing to debate withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty if the Security Council adopts a resolution that would force Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment.

Withdrawal from the treaty could end all international oversight of Iran's nuclear program.

Several months ago, Iran produced what is believed to be its first batch of low-enriched uranium. A heavy-water reactor in the city of Arak, which would produce plutonium as a by-product, is scheduled for completion by early 2009.

The five veto-wielding council members and Germany, who have been the key players in negotiations with Iran, met for the first time Tuesday morning to start work on the Iran resolution. Bolton said the meeting "kind of fizzled because the Russians and the Chinese really weren't prepared to discuss the substance."

He and other diplomats did not say which country or countries had written the draft security council resolution.