An IAEA inspector at the Isfahan nuclear facility (file photo)
1 September 2005 -- A senior U.S. State Department official says the United States has been lobbying other countries in a bid to bring Iran to the United Nations Security Council for punitive sanctions over its nuclear program.
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, in an interview with AP, warned that Washington intends to seek international sanctions on Iran if Tehran does not reinstate a freeze on nuclear-fuel work that Washington believes could be part of a secret program to build an atomic bomb.
Burns said the United States fully expects the UN's nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to refer Iran to the UN Security Council if such work does not cease.
Burns described Iran as acting in "defiance" of the international community by refusing to halt the nuclear-fuel work. He did not rule out, however, that Iran could resume negotiations with Britain, France, and Germany, saying Washington still believes there is life in the diplomatic process.
Iran denies having any covert program to develop a nuclear weapon.
(AP)
For RFE/RL's complete coverage of the controversy surrounding Iran's nuclear program, see "Iran's Nuclear Program."
Burns said the United States fully expects the UN's nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to refer Iran to the UN Security Council if such work does not cease.
Burns described Iran as acting in "defiance" of the international community by refusing to halt the nuclear-fuel work. He did not rule out, however, that Iran could resume negotiations with Britain, France, and Germany, saying Washington still believes there is life in the diplomatic process.
Iran denies having any covert program to develop a nuclear weapon.
(AP)
For RFE/RL's complete coverage of the controversy surrounding Iran's nuclear program, see "Iran's Nuclear Program."