Reuters: The United States hopes to avoid confrontation with Iran over its nuclear programme, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday. BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States hopes to avoid confrontation with Iran over its nuclear programme, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday.
“My country is trying to avoid any confrontation,” he told reporters in Beijing.
“That’s why we’ve worked with the Russians and others on this process and that’s why we’re trying to work in the global context with our U.N. Security Council partners and others to make clear to Iran that this would not be a positive development,” Zoellick said.
Britain, Germany and France have circulated a draft proposal to authorise the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions over suspicions it is trying to build a nuclear weapon.
Zoellick said in Tokyo on Monday there was a “pretty good posture” for referring the issue to the Security Council given the composition of the IAEA board.
“If you look at the countries that are members of the IAEA board, I think we are in a pretty good posture about pursuing a referral,” he said.
