Russia, China set to pressure Iran on nuke inspections
Two powers will call on Tehran to cooperate with IAEA investigation of its nuclear program
In an about-face, Russia and China indicated they will join four Western countries in an effort to pressure Iran into cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reuters reported Tuesday.
A list of heavy sanctions against Iran has been in place for a while, but China and Russia, two key players in the global community, have yet to throw their weight behind the international effort to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb.
According to the Reuters report, the six nations would state “it is essential and urgent for Iran to engage with the IAEA.” Diplomats told the news service the final wording of the paper had yet to be approved by all the parties involved, but the idea of showing a strong front against Iran’s nuclear drive was clear.
Iran has been negotiating with the IAEA for over a year, but diplomats in Israel, the US and the EU have expressed fears the Islamic Republic is using the talks to buy time rather than working toward a solution.
Iran claims its nuclear program is for peaceful means.
On Monday, IAEA head Yukiya Amano said negotiations with Iran to restart the probe “have been going around in circles.” Tehran, he added, was “not providing the necessary cooperation to enable us to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities.
“Despite the intensified dialogue between the agency and Iran since January 2012… no agreement has been reached on the structured approach document. To be frank, for some time now we have been going around in circles,” Amano said at the start of a 35-nation board meeting.
The Associated Press contributed to this report