Iran Should Face UN Security Council
Tuesday January 31, 06:59 AM
The US and other permanent Security Council members have agreed Iran should be hauled before the UN over its disputed nuclear program.China and Russia have signed on to a statement that calls on the UN nuclear watchdog to transfer the Iran dossier to the Security Council.The council has the power to impose sanctions or take other harsh action.
Foreign ministers from China and Russia, plus the US, Britain and France, also said the Security Council should wait until March to take up the Iran case.
That will alow for a formal report on Tehran's activities from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other foreign ministers discussed Iran at a private dinner at the home of British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
After the meeting a joint statement called on the IAEA to report the Iran case when it meets in Vienna on Thursday.
Foreign ministers from Germany and the European Union also attended the dinner and agreed to a compromise. Tzeitals note: A COMPROMISE????
The new deal will take the case to the Security Council but will allow a short break before the council must undertake what could be a divisive debate.