UN: The United States, Britain and France moved a dispute over Iran's nuclear ambitions to the full UN Security Council after failing yesterday to win Russia and China's support for a proposal to pressure Tehran.
At issue is a British-French draft of a council statement that would call on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment efforts, which the West believes are a cover for bomb-making, and ask International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for a progress report.
France and Britain called the council's 10 non-permanent members to be briefed on their proposal at a meeting later last night.
The five permanent members had met for a fourth time yesterday in search of a deal but broke off after failing to reach an agreement.
US ambassador John Bolton said the five would meet again. "We are united in our determination to ensure that Iran does not achieve a nuclear-weapons capability," Mr Bolton told reporters.
Russia and China have been uneasy about involving the Security Council, which has authority to impose sanctions, and want the IAEA to retain control.
The US wants Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the IAEA, to report to the council within 14 days on Iran's compliance. Russia and China prefer a six-week deadline and want the report to go to the IAEA rather than to the Security Council.
If the split continues, the western powers may decide to drop the idea of a Security Council statement, which requires unanimity. Instead they are considering putting a resolution to a vote and forcing Russia and China to abstain or veto, thereby breaking any semblance of unity. - (Reuters)