US, Iran face-off over EU nuclear resolution looms

The US and Iran were headed for a diplomatic showdown at the UN nuclear watchdog, with Washington demanding that Tehran be threatened with t...

The US and Iran were headed for a diplomatic showdown at the UN nuclear watchdog, with Washington demanding that Tehran be threatened with tough action if it resumes atomic work it could use for bombs, diplomats say.

France, Britain and Germany, who spearheaded an EU offer of incentives if Iran suspended its uranium enrichment programme, circulated a draft resolution that diplomats at the UN said was unacceptable to both Washington and Tehran. Washington sees it as too weak and wants to include an ‘‘automatic trigger’’ which makes it clear that resuming any activities related to enrichment would spark a referral to the Security Council and possibly sanctions.

‘‘It is still just in the eyes of the Iranians, a suspension,’’ US Secretary of State Colin Powell told CNN. ‘‘A suspension means they can turn it back on at any time. We want it turned off permanently.’’

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But Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, who met Powell at an international conference on Iraq in Egypt in what was described as a ‘polite conversation’, told reporters the suspension would remain in place only long enough to provide assurances that Tehran was not diverting to a bomb programme and would be reviewed after three months.

‘‘Suspension is a voluntary action. As long as it is leading to … ensuring the other side that Iran is not going to divert to nuclear weapons, it will be continued,’’ he told reporters. —Reuters