Shen Dingli

Fresh sanctions against Iran

By Shen Dingli (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-26 07:54

UN Security Council members signal tough stance even after Teheran's nuclear fuel swap deal with Turkey and Brazil

Iran's recent formal notification to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of its nuclear fuel swap deal with Turkey and Brazil - a move aimed at budging from its previous tough stance - is expected to undercut the US-led international campaign for fresh sanctions against Teheran.

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Due to deep concerns over Iran's nuclear program, the international community has pushed for several rounds of Teheran-targeted United Nations Security Council resolutions, urging the Islamic nation to put a moratorium on its uranium enrichment.

Iran, however, has failed to take steps to defuse international concerns. On the contrary, it has continued with its enrichment activity, which it says are completely for civilian purposes.

Iran has even tried to enrich uranium to 20-percent purity, a level that is close to weapons-grade.

In a move to escalate pressure on Iran, the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany (P5 + 1) achieved consensus last week on fresh sanctions against Teheran, calling for international blockage of heavy arms sales to the Islamic country and urging it to guarantee that it would not develop fresh uranium enrichment capability.

The proposed sanctions will authorize other countries to carry out inspections on inbound and outbound ships, and airplanes to the country, if these means of transport are suspected of helping Teheran transform its long-controversial nuclear program for military use.

The consensus on fresh sanctions was reached after compromises among the five permanent UN Security Council members on the issue and thus serves as an indication of their aspiration and capability to forge a stable international security order in the post-Cold War era.

With the hard-won move, the P5+1 group has sent a strong signal to Iran that it should not go farther in its nuclear program.

Iran should first possess some fissile material if it wants to develop its own nuclear weapons. The country's defiance of UN Security Council resolutions in the past, which has essentially led to the collapse of the multilateral punitive mechanisms, has drawn the country closer to the military use threshold.

Under the current international political circumstances, the new round of UN resolutions, like the past ones, will be incapable of deterring Teheran's nuclear program given that Iran's core interest, the economic security that is closely related to its energy, will not be touched in the new resolutions.

The nuclear fuel swap accord Iran inked with Turkey and Brazil on May 17 seems to put a brake on the further escalation of Teheran's strained relations with the international community.

According to the deal, Iran will move 1,200 kg of low-enriched uranium to Turkey and, in return, will receive a supply of some highly enriched uranium it needs for research and medical use.

Teheran would unconditionally retrieve this low-enriched uranium if other countries fail to fulfill their commitments.

This unexpected move on Iran's part makes the situation involving its nuclear program more complicated. The shipment of some enriched uranium to a third country will reduce the possibility of Teheran further enriching the nuclear fuel and using them for military purposes.