Intl. officials call for diplomatic solution to Iran nuclear issue

TEHRAN, Nov. 19 (MNA) -- A number of international officials, including the Russian foreign minister, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, and Indian prime minister, have called for the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program to be resolved through diplomatic channels. However, the 5+1 group countries (the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany), during a meeting of the 35-member International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors in Vienna, which opened on Thursday and closed on Friday, approved a draft resolution criticizing Iran for its nuclear activities but deferred any discussion of new United Nations sanctions until the spring. The IAEA Board adopted the resolution by a vote of 32 to 2, with one abstention, on Friday. Only Cuba and Ecuador voted against the resolution and Indonesia abstained. The resolution will express “deep and increasing concern about the unresolved issues” in Iran’s nuclear program, particularly allegations that Iran has sought sensitive technology used in making nuclear warheads, said a senior U.S. official, the Washington Post reported on Thursday. Although it contains no specific recommendation for new sanctions, the document urges Iran to agree to new negotiations “without preconditions,” and it calls on the IAEA to update its findings in March. The resolution was adopted based on a report by IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano released on November 8, in which he said that Iran appears to have worked on designing an atomic bomb. In his opening remarks to the two-day meeting in Vienna, Amano said evidence gathered by the agency “indicates that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device,” according to the Washington Post. Amano also said he had written to Iranian nuclear officials proposing that a high-level IAEA delegation travel to Iran promptly to deal with issues raised in the report.