AFP: Citing little progress in ongoing talks on Iran’s nuclear program, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday the United States wants to see the UN Security Council take up the issue.
“We believe that we have seen enough, that action is warranted, and the (International Atomic Energy Agency) should refer the matter to the Security Council at its upcoming meeting next week,” he said.
The IAEA is scheduled to meet Monday to review Iran’s nuclear program. AFP
WASHINGTON – Citing little progress in ongoing talks on Iran’s nuclear program, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday the United States wants to see the UN Security Council take up the issue.
“We believe that we have seen enough, that action is warranted, and the (International Atomic Energy Agency) should refer the matter to the Security Council at its upcoming meeting next week,” he said.
The IAEA is scheduled to meet Monday to review Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran reportedly was ready to renounce its efforts to assemble centrifuges to enrich uranium in order to avoid being brought before the council, but a European diplomat told AFP that an agreement was still some way off.
Powell repeated Washington’s impatience with what officials have called stalling tactics by Tehran.
“I’ve seen those reports but I would be more interested in seeing Iranian action to stop the steps that they say they are embarking upon with respect to the production of materials that in our judgement leads to a nuclear weapons — make these evidence of a nuclear weapons program, which one must assume could lead to the development production of a nuclear weapon,” he said.
