Foreign ministers from five nations, permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany made the announcement yesterday in a joint statement, the first on the Iran issue. China and Russia "have given their backing". Tehran "must stop all activities linked to a nuclear programme.
London (AsiaNews/Agencies) The European Union, United States, Russia and China have agreed to defer Iran to the UN Security Council through the IAEA ( International Atomic Energy Agency), which is due to meet this week in Vienna. The announcement was made by at the end of a sitting of the nations foreign ministers yesterday in London.
Participants at the meeting, five of whom are permanent members of the Council plus Germany, determined that "this week's extraordinary IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) board meeting should report to the Security Council its decision on the steps required of Iran".
The Council could ultimately impose sanctions against Iran but there are many steps before this could happen.
A senior US official said the statement " is the most powerful message we could have hoped for".
February 2nd the head of the IAEI, El Baradei will be asked to prepare a report for presentation to the board , probably on March 6th.
The statement reiterated their nation's commitment to the UN's Non Proliferation Treaty and their determination to prevent proliferation of nuclear arms. ministers agreed that the UN Security Council should await the IAEA director general's report to a IAEA meeting in March before deciding what further action to take.
"(The ministers) call on Iran to restore in full the suspension of (uranium) enrichment-related activity, including research and development under the supervision of the IAEA," said the statement. The statement added that they should all continue their resolve to work for a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear weapons program.