US: Iran's standoff with the West escalated yesterday when the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain reacted to the country restarting its nuclear enrichment programme by declaring that "the time has come to bring in the UN security council".
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice later backed the European call, saying: "These provocative actions by the Iranian regime have shattered the basis for negotiations."
German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Tehran's move was a "clear and conscious violation" of its 2004 agreement with the E-3 states, and the resolutions of the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"Today we have decided to inform the executive board of the IAEA that our relations with Iran have reached an impasse and we will therefore request the board to look into this matter," said Mr Steinmeier after an emergency meeting with his French and British counterparts in Berlin yesterday.
"We believe the time has now come for the security council to become involved to reinforce the authority of the IAEA resolutions." Two and a half years ago, the E-3 reached an agreement with Tehran, agreeing to suspend referring Iran to the UN security council if Iran suspended its programme of uranium enrichment and began talks. Tehran broke international seals on a nuclear research facility on Tuesday, and reportedly did the same at another two sites yesterday.
Mr Steinmeier said the three countries' "confidence of Iran's intentions has been seriously tested and shaken" but they were "still very willing to address this problem by diplomatic means in a multilateral framework and by peaceful means".
He added that Tehran had "rejected without even examining them" proposals for closer political, economic and technological co-operation between Iran and the West.
British foreign secretary Jack Straw confirmed this, adding: "During our Geneva meeting in May, I was authorised by Condoleezza Rice to tell the Iranians that if we could agree, the US would lift its block on opening negotiations for Iran's membership of the World Trade Organisation."
He said Tehran had also rejected an offer from Moscow to process uranium for Iran in Russia. French foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said a planned meeting with Iranian officials on January 18th "no longer has reason to take place" and called on the international community to present "as united a front as possible" in deciding when to turn the matter over to the security council. The three foreign ministers have agreed to meet for "urgent talks" in London next week with their counterparts from Russia and China, without whom no security council measures can be agreed.
Possibilities being discussed include a travel ban on Iranian diplomats or various levels of sanctions, from a ban on commercial contracts up to outlawing oil exports from, or petrol imports to, Iran.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Iran's actions "feed suspicion that this programme could have a hidden military aspect" and that Moscow would not block any vote by the board of governors of the IAEA to refer the matter to the security council.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in Berlin that the international community did not want to deny Iran's right to develop civil nuclear programmes.
"What we cannot accept is to have a lack of clarity on the objectives that they have, and on the decision they have taken in the last days," he said.
An unnamed diplomat, said to have ties to the IAEA, said yesterday that it would take time to recommence uranium enrichment work because of the poor condition of Iran's nuclear facilities."There's a lot of humidity, corrosion. It's going to take a long time," said the diplomat.