China warns UN about Iran

2006-04-30 09:08

Chicago - It could be "dangerous" to introduce a UN Security Council resolution to force Iran to halt uranium enrichment activities, the Chinese ambassador to the UN said here Saturday.

Ambassador Wang Guangya, who presides over the 15-member Security Council this month, would not comment on whether China would veto a Chapter 7 resolution, which Western diplomats have said they will introduce next week.

However, he reiterated the need to find a diplomatic solution to the situation and said the International Atomic Energy Agency was the organization most capable of ensuring that Iran complies with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"If you introduce a resolution not to reinforce the IAEA but to replace it, that is dangerous," Wang told reporters following a talk at the University of Chicago.

"The Iranians are already saying that if this issue is being discussed under Chapter 7, they will drop the NPT like the North Koreans," he said.

Wang said the Security Council could be used to put pressure on Iran to fully cooperate with IAEA inspectors, but said that China, while "concerned," does not characterize the situation as a threat to international security.

"This is a technical issue and I don't think the Security Council as a political organization would be capable of doing this job," he said.

Responding to comments by US President George W Bush that the international community must present a "common voice" to put pressure on Tehran, Wang said the international community was "united" in its concern but not in the solution.

On Friday the IAEA confirmed that Iran had not complied with a Security Council demand to freeze enrichment - which can be used to make fuel for civilian nuclear reactors, but can also serve as the explosive core of atom bombs.

The report clears the way for a new phase of diplomacy, with the United States and Europe poised to seek a Security Council resolution legally obliging Iran to meet IAEA and Council demands.

If Iran still refuses, such a resolution could pave the way to economic sanctions and even military action, although Tehran's major trading partners, Russia and China - which have a veto on the Council - oppose any such move.

- SAPA