Don’t Bomb Iran

NPT talks were suspended for 24 hours even before the agenda was agreed, as Iran objected to Western-backed moves to include wording emphasising the need for “full compliance” -  which Iran sees as directed specifically at it.  The talks in Vienna are the first preparatory meeting for the NPT review in 2010, and although the wording can be seen as provocative at this stage,   Western media report the possible collapse of talks as Iran’s fault.

Reuters story below

Atomic treaty talks suspended over Iran objection

By Mark HeinrichWed May 2, 2:05 PM ET

A meeting of 130 countries on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was suspended on Wednesday for 24 hours so diplomats could try and overcome a standoff triggered by Iran’s objections to the agenda.

Iran, accused by the United States and other Western powers of having secret plans to make nuclear arms, says a clause in the agenda could single it out as the prime peril to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

When the two-week meeting began on Monday, Iran blocked the required consensus on the agenda over the clause citing the need for a country to consider “approaches and measures to realize its (NPT) purpose, reaffirming the need for full compliance.”

The clause was added at the behest of some Western powers which consider Iran and North Korea the biggest threats to the 37-year-old NPT, diplomats said.

Iran said the clause glossed over nuclear weapons states’ failure to make good on NPT commitments to phase out arsenals or seek a nuclear arms free zone in the Middle East by pressing Israel to dismantle its undeclared atomic firepower.

Earlier on Wednesday, Iranian envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh said Tehran would drop its objection if the passage on compliance was expanded to specifically mention disarmament by major powers with nuclear weapons.

ADJOURNMENT

Yukiya Amano, Japanese chairman at the NPT Preparatory Committee session, said he was adjourning the meeting until Thursday afternoon to try and resolve the dispute.

“I am still conducting intensive consultations and I need some more time. I thank you for your understanding. The next plenary meeting will be held at 3 p.m. (1300 GMT) tomorrow,” Amano told the assembly of 130 NPT member nations.

Iran rejects the Western charges it has a secret nuclear arms plan. It says its bid to enrich uranium is only for electricity but the U.N. Security Council has imposed sanctions on Tehran for refusing to suspend the program.

Iran had sympathy from a few U.S. foes like Cuba but the vast majority, including both industrialized nations and many of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) of developing states to which Tehran belongs, had no problem with the agenda, diplomats said.

“The parties here need time to think. We are working very hard. It’s complicated,” Amano said after leaving the meeting hall to go into more consultations.

The NPT binds members without nuclear bombs not to acquire them, guarantees the right of all members to nuclear energy for peaceful ends, and commits the original five nuclear powers from the post World War Two era to phase out their arsenals.

Security analysts say the NPT must be overhauled to cope with countries trying to master nuclear arms capability under the guise of civilian atomic energy programs.

The United States and close allies suspect Iran of doing this and say Tehran’s activity, together with North Korea’s test nuclear explosion after dropping out of the NPT, is doing much to undermine the treaty.