BRUSSELS, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency could next week refer Iran to the UN Security Council if a plan put forward by the European Union is agreed.
The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain, along with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, are due to meet in Berlin Thursday to discuss the bloc's response to Iran's decision to resume nuclear fuel research earlier this week.
A senior EU official told journalists in Brussels the three foreign ministers would call for an emergency meeting of the IAEA next week at which they would urge Iran to be referred to the UN Security Council to face possible sanctions.
The official said the EU, which has been engaged in diplomatic talks with Iran for over two and a half years and has previously resisted moves to refer Tehran to the United Nations, would seek the "widest possible consensus" in Vienna.
On Saturday, ambassadors from the five Security Council states delivered a stern warning to the Iranian regime not to break United Nations seals on its nuclear research centers. The diplomat said Brussels was engaged in continuous consultations with the United States, Russia and China about the issue and that a common position was emerging.
The official added that the prospects of a last-minute diplomatic deal with Teheran to avert possible sanctions were fading. "Under current circumstances it is very difficult to talk to the Iranians," said the senior diplomat. "There is a sense among the EU-3 that we have reached the end of a phase and are opening another one." Asked what the next phase could be, the official said: "referral."
Western nations have been running out of patience with Iran ever since it was revealed that Tehran had concealed evidence of its nuclear program for over a decade. The election of conservative hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to president and his recent calls for Israel to be "wiped off the map of the world" have also strengthened the international community's determination not to let the clerical regime get its hands on nuclear weapons.
On Thursday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of Commons that London would push for Iran to be referred to the United Nations -- a move strongly backed by Washington. "We obviously don't rule out any measures at all," Blair said when asked about possible sanctions. "It's important Iran recognizes how seriously the international community treats it." Russia has also softened its traditionally pro-Tehran stance, with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov expressing his "deep disappointment" with Iran's decision to restart nuclear processing Monday.
NATO Thursday threw its weight behind the joint European Union/American stance. Spokesman James Appathurai told reporters the 26-nation military club "fully supported" the view that Iran should meet its IAEA commitments. However, the spokesman added there had been "absolutely no discussion within NATO about military action."
