China balks at Iran sanctions
鈥⑻�A daily summary of global reports on security issues.
Diplomats from six major world powers failed to reach an agreement on pursuing sanctions against Iran in a Saturday meeting in New York.
In an expected move, China resisted sanctions, highlighting the key role that the country, with its United Nations Security Council veto power, is able to play in the international relationship with Iran.
The six parties did agree that Iran鈥檚 response to a proposed plan to change and increase monitoring of its nuclear development was unsatisfactory, and that the nations should now begin considering the 鈥渟econd track,鈥� meaning sanctions, reports The New York Times. But China did not back down from its position that sanctions are not yet needed.
To , China sent only sent a low-level representative to the meeting, while the other nations sent senior diplomats.
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The meeting, attended by the permanent members of the Security Council 鈥� the US, Britain, Russia, China, and France 鈥� as well as Germany, was called after the deadline passed for Iran to respond to the UN-backed proposal. That plan, presented in October, would have seen Iran鈥檚 uranium sent to Russia for enrichment, then returned as fuel for peaceful reactors. Iran鈥檚 rejection of that plan has upset Russia, which has not objected to sanctions as China has.
The Times reports that Western nations tried to portray the meeting as positive, with a senior European Union official saying there was 鈥渃onsensus鈥� among the nations to focus on the 鈥渟econd track.鈥�
Western officials tried to cast a positive light on the meeting by suggesting that all six were at least moving in the same direction, even if it was unclear that China remained committed to the idea of a second track. [鈥
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鈥淲e will continue to seek a negotiated solution, but consideration of appropriate further measures has also begun,鈥� said Robert Cooper, a senior European Union official.
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Bloomberg reports that the Russian representative at the meeting said most of the discussion . The Security Council has imposed sanctions on Iran three times in the past in attempts to convince Iran to halt its nuclear program, which the West believes is aimed at developing weapons but Iran maintains is for peaceful uses. The news agency outlined what sanctions would be considered this time, should the group reach an agreement.
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The most likely sanctions would target Iran鈥檚 Revolutionary Guard and shipping companies that allegedly have violated a UN arms embargo, and would bar nations and international lenders such as the World Bank from giving any grants, loans and other financial aid to Iran except for humanitarian or development purposes.
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海角大神 reports that China鈥檚 opposition to sanctions may be rooted in its uneasiness about the type of sanctions Western countries now want to impose.
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China, uneasy about democracy movements, might accept sanctions against the Revolutionary Guard, but would likely reject听any that are aimed at supporting Iran鈥檚 opposition movement, reports the Monitor.
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Meanwhile, US intelligence agencies are 听of Iran鈥檚 nuclear program as early as next month, reports Newsweek. The 2007 National Intelligence Estimate caused controversy by concluding Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and had not restarted it as of 2007. The new update is likely to be more similar to the intelligence agencies of US allies in its conclusion that Iran is pursing a nuclear weapon, according to Newsweek鈥檚 sources.
