New Delhi, November 19
As the crucial November 24 full-board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran’s nuclear programme draws near, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan has reached London to discuss with his British counterpart the international community’s strategies on the subject.
Key sources in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of External Affairs told The Tribune today that apart from having regular consultations with his British counterpart, Mr Narayanan’s brief is to explore possibilities of a situation wherein a voting on an IAEA resolution for reporting Iran to the United Nation’s Security Council is avoided.
Prime Minister’s Media Adviser Sanjaya Baru told this correspondent that India’s vote at the November 24 Vienna meet of IAEA would depend on how the resolution is drafted and he quickly added that there was no draft resolution yet.
Asked if India had made up its mind on the issue and will vote against Iran, if it were to come for voting on November 24, Dr Baru said: “It’s not a question of voting against Iran. The Prime Minister has already made his stand clear on the issue in Dhaka. India’s vote will be as per the country’s national interests. Our vote will depend on how the resolution is worded. But there is no draft resolution yet. We will cross the bridge when we come to it.”
Significantly, Dr Baru also stated that India was supportive of the Russian initiative on the Iran issue which envisages moving all of Iran’s uranium enrichment to Russia. The US has already gone on record to say that the Bush administration would find acceptable a compromise under which Iran would process uranium and then send it to Russia for enrichment into nuclear fuel for civilian use.
Britain, France and Germany, which have taken the lead in negotiations with Iran, support the proposal, as does Russia.
India’s insistence on the wording of the IAEA resolution is understandable because New Delhi has been trying its best to avert Iran getting referred to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) which could impose sanctions. The IAEA board, the US and the Europe Union are keen on referring Iran to the UNSC, but Russia and China, both members of the Security Council, are reluctant to move against Iran.
Meanwhile, a new report by IAEA’s Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei, released yesterday, says that Iran offered limited information in response to requests from the UN nuclear watchdog agency for greater transparency and access to sensitive sites associated with the country’s nuclear programme.
“Full transparency is indispensable and overdue,” Mr ElBaradei’s report said.
MEA spokesperson Navtej Sarna, responding to a question, said the government had noted the report. “We welcome the progress made in regard to various outstanding issues by Iran and see this as a vindication of our stand, expressed on September 24, 2005, advocating that more time be given to enable us to reach a satisfactory resolution of outstanding issues.”
“The Director-General’s report conveys that IAEA has sought additional assurances in respect of a certain programme and emphasises the importance of Iran providing additional documentation and access. We trust that Iran will continue to extend necessary cooperation to IAEA to enable the Agency to resolve outstanding issues. This will contribute to the success of ongoing diplomatic efforts and India believes it is important for all concerned to avoid actions that may undermine these efforts.”
In August this year, Iran walked out of two years of negotiations with Britain, France and Germany and announced it was restarting a plant at Esfahan where it processes raw uranium yellowcake into a gas that can be further concentrated for civilian or military use. Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Mr Ali Larijani, told an interviewer on state-run television yesterday that Iran had started converting a second batch of uranium. “This job is done, and the plant is continuing its activity,” Mr Larijani remarked, adding that Iran had informed the UN’s nuclear monitoring agency of the development.
