Iran Breaks UN Seals at Plant; EU Weighs Response

Iran today removed United Nations
seals on equipment used in uranium enrichment at the Isfahan
facility, as the International Atomic Energy Agency debated a
resolution calling on the government in Tehran to halt nuclear
work.
``The seals were broken, and our cameras and surveillance
system is fully operational,'' IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky in
Vienna said in a telephone interview. ``They have indicated that
they intend to operate all parts of the facility, in time,
although it will take a while to get everything up and running.''
France, Germany and the U.K. circulated a draft resolution
calling on Iran to resume its suspension of nuclear activity, and
the IAEA Board of Governors will meet tomorrow to consider the
measure, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said.
The U.S. wants to block Iran, which it brands a state sponsor
of terrorism, from developing nuclear weapons that might pose a
global threat. The three European allies of the U.S. have been
conducting negotiations with Iran on limiting its program.
``It is essential that we break this current impasse, and I
believe the best way is to continue the discussions of the EU
three with the Iranians,'' UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told
reporters today in New York. ``They should search for a solution
in conformity with international norms, and I have indications
from both sides that they are prepared to continue searching for
a solution.''

UN Sanctions

UN sanctions are a ``potential consequence'' if Iran defies
the allies, U.S. President George W. Bush said yesterday. Bush
said he welcomed the assertion by Iran's new president, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, that Iran was willing to continue talks.
Iranian nuclear workers began feeding uranium ore
concentrate into the first part of its process line at the
Isfahan plant, the IAEA said yesterday. The process leads to
enriched uranium, which may be used in power plants or nuclear
weapons.
``This facility is one Iran has a right to operate as long
as it is supervised by us, and that is being done,'' Gwozdecky
said. ``But it would be better if it was not operated, in terms
of the atmosphere.''
Iran agreed in November to suspend work on uranium and
allowed the IAEA to seal the plant as a confidence-building
gesture.
Some analysts believe the Iranian leadership agrees to
freeze the nuclear program only when the government encounters
technical problems with enriching uranium, according to Patrick
Clawson, an economist who has written about Iran and nuclear
proliferation.

Stop and Start

``As soon as they think they've come up with a solution,
then they cause a political crisis by announcing that they're no
longer going to freeze their activities, and then they race ahead
as quickly as they can until they encounter a new problem,''
Clawson, a deputy director at the Washington Institute for Near
East Policy, said in a telephone interview.
``It may be coincidental, but this view is consistent with
the reality,'' Clawson said.
Ahmadinejad said he will put forward unspecified ideas to
resolve the standoff with the U.S. and European governments after
forming his Cabinet. The Iranian president, who U.S. officials
say was a leader of the student revolt against the U.S. Embassy
in Tehran in 1979, yesterday said the U.S. and its European
allies were treating Iran as if ``the time was 100 years ago and
our country was their colony,'' according to the Islamic Republic
News Agency.
Iran is the second-biggest oil producer in the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries. It pumped almost 4 million
barrels of crude a day last month, according to Bloomberg
estimates.
Energy needs in Iran are expected to double in the next 20
years to about 60,000 megawatts annually. The government said it
wants to generate about 7,000 megawatts of nuclear power for the
country's 68 million people.