U.S. Pushes U.N. For New Iran Sanctions

A top American diplomat pressed for harsher U.N. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program on Friday, while Iran's former president said talks with the U.N. atomic watchdog were progressing and warned against threatening his country.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns was meeting diplomats from the four other permanent Security Council members and Germany to rally support for a tougher track with Iran, which has a deadline next month to fully disclose details of its nuclear program.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and France support new sanctions if Iran continues to refuse to suspend uranium enrichment, though fellow permanent U.N. Security Council members Russia and China remain skeptical.

The U.S. and allies accuse Iran of using a civilian power program as cover to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charge and insists it needs the technology to generate power.

After talks Thursday in Vienna with Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency, Burns told reporters that Washington wants a resolution on a third round of U.N. Security Council sanctions passed soon.

"There are sanctions being implemented ... and there will be a third Security Council sanctions resolution" if Iran continues to defy the council, Burns said.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier gave the call qualified backing on Thursday, saying Germany will support new U.N sanctions if Iran fails to meet the December deadline to provide full details of its program.

But Iran's former president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, said Friday in Tehran that talks between Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog were making progress and he warned the U.S. to avoid resorting to threats.

"The U.S. is making mistakes. Iran is having talks (with the IAEA) and has said it will respond to IAEA questions. They are gradually coming and taking their response. One has to wait, talk and make discussions," he said.

Rafsanjani also spoke about the prospects of a U.S. attack against Iran, saying it would create a quagmire for Washington with unimaginable consequences.

Meanwhile, Democrat Barack Obama introduced a Senate resolution late Thursday that says President Bush does not have authority to use military force against Iran, the latest move in a debate with presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton about how to respond to the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the Illinois senator drafted the measure in an effort to "nullify the vote the Senate took to give the president the benefit of the doubt on Iran."

Burton was referring to an amendment sponsored by Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, that passed 76-22 on Sept. 26 and designates Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization.

Clinton and 29 other senators wrote to Mr. Bush Thursday to tell him he has no congressional authority for war with Iran.

Britain is likely to press for European Union sanctions against Iran within weeks, including bans on investment or export credit guarantees.

At a meeting in Luxembourg on Oct. 15, EU foreign ministers failed to agree on sanctions against Iran, despite an effort by Britain and France to get the 27-nation bloc to adopt specific measures as part of its common foreign policy.

Brown "has already said the U.K. supports a further U.N. Security Council resolution if Iran does not comply with its international obligations," Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement.

During a state visit to Britain this week, Saudi officials discussed the possibility of creating a Middle East consortium of users of enriched uranium, the Foreign Office said.

The proposal by the Arab nations around the Persian Gulf is to build a uranium enrichment plant in a neutral country to supply the region's states, including Iran, with reactor fuel for nuclear energy programs.

Prince Saud told London's Middle East Economic Digest that the plan had been proposed to Iran's government, which said it would consider the proposal.

However, the Iranians previously ignored a similar offer from Russia - to host Iran's uranium enrichment facilities on its territory to allay Western concerns about monitoring.