China urges UN action on N Korea

Oct 10 2006 BBC report:

China has called for "appropriate" UN action over North Korea's claim to have carried out a nuclear test on Monday.

Beijing - traditionally Pyongyang's closest ally - said it had not ruled out UN sanctions but that military action was "unimaginable".

The UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution that proposes strict financial and trade sanctions.

The US ambassador to the UN said while the US would not rule out using force, it was seeking a diplomatic solution.

The South Korean Prime Minister, Han Myung-sook, said Seoul would not support a resolution including a threat of military force.

'Peaceful settlement'

Russia, which like China has resisted sanctions in the past, has said it is "ready to take part in joint efforts of the interested parties to arrive at a peaceful, diplomatic settlement of the situation".

The response of China - the country that holds the most influence over the isolated regime - is seen by many analysts to be key in moving the crisis forward.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said: "This will no doubt have a negative impact on China and North Korea's relations."

He said the UN should take "appropriate action" but added that China was still considering the nature of that action.

However, when asked what China thought of the possibility of military action, Mr Liu told a news conference: "I think this is an unimaginable way."

North Korea's neighbours remain tense in the wake of Monday's announcement. China has reportedly cancelled leave for troops along part of its border with the North, and South Korean forces have been ordered to stay alert.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun feared the move could "spark a nuclear arms build-up in other countries" but Japan, the only nation to suffer atomic attack, has pledged that it will not develop nuclear weapons in response.

'Further communication'

New Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the Japanese parliament: "Possession of nuclear arms is not an option at all for our country."

Meeting in New York, the UN Security Council has strongly condemned North Korea over its claimed test.

On Tuesday the Security Council will continue to weigh up options for punitive action, and is considering a 13-point draft resolution proposed by the US, seeking targeted sanctions. The proposals include:

Halting trade in material that could be used to make weapons of mass destruction
Inspections of cargo going in and out of North Korea
The ending of financial transactions used to support nuclear proliferation
A ban on the import of luxury goods
US ambassador to the UN John Bolton said that while the US would never rule out the use of force, they were seeking a diplomatic solution to the crisis through the UN.

"What we're seeking in this resolution in the wake of their nuclear test, is to strengthen... sanctions, make them more comprehensive, make it harder - hopefully impossible - for North Korea to proceed down the road to becoming a nuclear power with delivery capability," he said.

"That would involve a range of things, cutting off their access to sensitive technology and materials, going after the financial network that exists to help them fund this sort of activity, and a range of other things as well."

The US wants to see the sanctions brought under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter, which means they would be mandatory and ultimately enforceable by military means.

In his first public statement since the reported test, US President Bush said the North Korean claim "constitutes a threat to international peace and security."

Only Iran, which also faces Security Council action over its failure to suspend its uranium enrichment programme - has voiced support for North Korea.

The underground test reportedly took place in Gilju in Hamgyong province at 1036 (0136 GMT) on Monday morning.

Scientists in South Korea say they believe the North's claim is genuine, but are trying to get further confirmation.

The size of the bomb is still uncertain, with estimates varying from 550 tons of destructive power to as much as 15 kilotons.

If confirmed, the test will give North Korea a place as a nuclear power alongside the US, Russia, Britain, France, India, Pakistan and China. Israel is also widely believed to have nuclear capabilities.

But correspondents say that just because Pyongyang has nuclear capabilities, it does not necessarily have a fully-fledged nuclear bomb, or a warhead that it can deliver to a target.

All sides must return to the tables to discuss Irans nuclear programme: Annan

UN News Centre 12 May 2006, report in full:

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Vienna today again stressed the need for a diplomatic solution to the stand-off with Iran over its nuclear programme, urging “every important stakeholder” to return to the negotiating table in a spirit of openness to find a solution.

Speaking to reporters in the Austrian capital, where he is on an official visit, Mr. Annan emphasized that “everything” should be done to find a negotiated solution to the impasse, repeating his call for all sides to “lower the rhetoric and intensify diplomatic efforts.”

“I have also stated very clearly both in private in my contacts with the American administration and publicly that I think it is important that the United States comes to the table and that it should join the European countries and Iran to find a solution.”

“Because I really believe that as long as the Iranians have a sense that they are negotiating with the Europeans ad referendum and what they discuss with them will have to be checked with the Americans, and then come back again to them, I am not sure they will put everything on the table,” he said.

“Everyone, every important stakeholder should be at the table,” Mr. Annan emphasized, adding he was happy that discussions earlier this week, which involved the Security Council, appeared to have led to “a situation where everyone agrees that not only one should come back to the table and negotiate but there should be a comprehensive package proposed for discussions by all.”

“I urge all parties to be open, and Iran included, and come back to the table to find a solution.”

Since 3 May, the 15-member Council has been considering its response to the latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which says Tehran has defied the Council’s call to suspend uranium enrichment and allow inspections of its nuclear programme.

Possible actions being considered by the Council include a draft resolution, backed by the United States, United Kingdom and France, that would demand compliance from Iran under the UN Charter’s Chapter VII – making it a legally binding decision that could be followed up by enforcement measures such as sanctions in the case of further defiance.

Iran says its activities are solely for energy purposes but the United States and other countries insist it is clandestinely seeking to produce nuclear weapons.

EU says Iran nuclear announcement "regrettable"

Reuters report Apr 12, 2006:

Iran's announcement that it has enriched uranium is regrettable, but the European Union will continue to press for a diplomatic solution to the dispute over its nuclear programme, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Tuesday that Iran had produced the enriched uranium needed to make nuclear fuel for the first time.

"This is regrettable," said Emma Udwin, a spokeswomen for Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU's commissioner for external relations. "We will continue to seek a diplomatic solution, but such announcements are not helpful."

Europe's three main powers -- Germany, France and Britain -- called off 2-1/2 years of talks on closer ties with Iran after it announced in January that it would resume enrichment work.

The so-called EU3 has made a renewed suspension of all enrichment-related activity a condition for restarting negotiations. Tehran refused, saying enrichment is a sovereign right it will not give up.

Tehran says its nuclear programme is aimed solely at producing electricity and is not, as Washington and the European Union say, a cover for developing atom bombs.

At a meeting on Monday, European foreign ministers reviewed options for restrictive measures against Iran drafted by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, including possible visa bans and financial sanctions if Tehran pressed on with sensitive nuclear activity.

Iran says "No" to foreign meddling in Darfur, Sudan

Today, Coaliton for Darfur publishes BBC Monitoring's text [no date] of a report by Sudanese newspaper Alwan claiming Iran says "No" to foreign meddling in Darfur. Excerpt:

"The Vice-President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr Ahmad al-Musawi, has said he cast doubts on the enemies' intentions towards the Darfur region.

In a press conference held at the Hilton hotel [in Khartoum] yesterday morning, he urged to end foreign interference in Darfur and let the Sudanese government work towards resolving the issue in a suitable way.

He further reiterated Iran's support for a Sudanese solution in this regard, and his trust in the mediation of the AU member states to resolve the crisis."

See Sudan Watch (in sidebar here).

Sudan backs Iran's peaceful use of nuclear energy

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday pledged his country’s support for Iran’s position on peaceful use of nuclear technology.

Iranian Deputy President Ahmed Moussawi, who arrived in Khartoum earlier Wednesday on an official visit to Sudan, delivered a letter to the Sudanese president from his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmedinejad concerning the position of the Iranian authority toward its nuclear file and its right topeaceful use of nuclear energy, the Sudanese news agency reported.

See full report by Xinhua at SudanTribune 26 January 2006.

Bombing in south west Iran - Amarji, A Heretic's Blog

Amarji - A Heretic's Blog by Syrian author Ammar Abdulhamid located in Maryland, USA.

[via Captain Marlow's post on Iran and Syria and bombing in south west Iran]

Iran: Blogger gets three-year suspended sentence

From Global Voices by Haitham Sabbah, January 20, 2006:

Journalist and blogger Ahmad Reza Shiri (Persian) will have a permanent threat hanging over him as a result of the suspended sentence (used to silence journalists who bother the authorities) of three years in prison handed down by a court in the northern city of Mashhad, Reporters Without Borders said today. He was reportedly accused of writing articles in his blog calling for a boycott of last February’s legislative elections.

China and Russia would fight Iran oil sanctions

Reuters report Jan 19, 2006 says U.N. Security Council heavyweights China and Russia have too much riding on Iran's energy sector to let the West slap sanctions on Tehran to punish its nuclear ambitions, experts say. Excerpt:

Fears of supply disruption from the world's fourth largest crude exporter, along with rising tensions in fellow OPEC member Nigeria, sent U.S. crude oil futures to a three-month high near $67 per barrel this week.

The United States and three European Union nations are pressing the 15-member U.N. Security Council to take up the Iranian nuclear issue, which could open the door to potential oil sanctions.

But two key U.N. Security Council members that carry veto powers -- China and Russia -- have multibillion-dollar oil and natural gas projects hanging in the balance, and China depends on Iran's imports to quench its oil thirst.

"I have a hard time seeing how oil investments could be targeted given the interests of Russia and China," said Julia Nanay, a senior director at PFC Energy in Washington.

Iran wants to sign a major oilfield deal to give China's Sinopec a stake in the giant Yadavaran oilfield in southern Iran, which could require investment of at least $2 billion (1.1 billion pounds).

And Russia's LUKOIL holds a minority stake in the Anaran field in western Iran near the Iraqi border.

Iran raised the stakes in its row with the West this month by removing U.N. seals on equipment that purifies uranium, which can be used for power, or if highly enriched, in bombs.

The United States and the European Union's three biggest powers said talks with Iran on the issue were at a dead end, and moved to refer the matter to the Security Council.

Tehran denies accusations it is seeking nuclear weapons and says it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.

China has blocked Security Council efforts to sanction countries like Sudan, where China has a huge oil deal. Sudan's Darfur region is beset by widespread violence between fractious rebel groups, government forces and a government-backed militia.

Full story.

Iran nuclear stand-off escalates

Iran has broken the international seals at the Natanz plant.

Iran's dispute with the UN and Western countries has deepened after Tehran resumed nuclear research.

As Iran removed UN seals from equipment at Natanz facility, UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Tehran would start small-scale nuclear enrichment.

The move was condemned by the US and European countries, which fear Iran is seeking to produce atomic bombs.

Tehran denies the accusation, saying it wants to produce nuclear energy only.

Full story BBC 10 Jan 2006.