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03/07/2006:

"ElBaradei hopeful over Iran solution"

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency today said he was optimistic that the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme could be resolved without the intervention of the UN security council.
Speaking as the 35-nation IAEA board prepared to meet, Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters he was hopeful that an agreement could be reached with Iran "in the next week".

The meeting of the UN's nuclear watchdog will forward a report on Tehran's nuclear activities to the security council, which will then have to decide whether to impose sanctions.

EU-led diplomacy has been geared towards persuading Iran to stop making nuclear fuel, but calls for a tougher response have intensified since the country resumed some enrichment work.

Mr ElBaradei did not elaborate on the reasons for his optimism that the crisis could be resolved.

However, diplomats told the Associated Press that Iran's recent talks with Russia and the EU trio of negotiators, France, Britain and Germany, had touched on the possibility of allowing Tehran to run a scaled-down uranium enrichment programme.
guardian.co.uk


Bolton warns Iran of ‘painful consequences’
WASHINGTON - Iran faces “tangible and painful consequences” if it continues its nuclear activities and the United States will use “all tools at our disposal” to stop this threat, a senior U.S. official said Sunday, ahead of a crucial international meeting on Iran.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, speaking at a convention of Jewish-Americans, said it is too soon for the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on Iran but other countries are talking about doing so and Washington is “beefing up defensive measures to cope with the Iranian nuclear threat.”

Monday’s meeting of the 35-nation International Atomic Energy Agency governing board is expected to take stock of Iran’s continued defiance of U.S. and European demands to end sensitive weapons-related uranium enrichment activity and then hand the case over to the security council.