Bloomberg: Iran Sent to Security Council, Resumes Nuclear Effort (Update2) Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- The United Nations nuclear agency voted to refer Iran to the Security Council over a nuclear program other countries fear is a cover for making weapons. Iran said in response it would resume work to enrich uranium. The International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board of governors voted 27 to 3 to make the referral, with five countries abstaining, at a meeting today in Vienna. The Security Council may now defer acting until March 6, when the IAEA meets again. Iran will ``immediately implement full-scale enrichment'' of uranium in response to the Security Council referral, Javad Vaidi, Iran's deputy secretary to the Supreme National Security Council, said in Vienna. Iran will also curtail IAEA spot checks and access to military installations and people, Vaidi said. Iran can make ``tons of enriched uranium'' using thousands of centrifuges, said Ali Soltanieh, the country's IAEA ambassador. Enriched uranium can be used for nuclear energy or nuclear weapons. The Security Council won't deliberate on the Iranian referral until at least March 6, after IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei issues another report on the country's nuclear program. Diplomats want Iran to use the next month to change its position. ``We hope that Iran will take this opportunity to begin rebuilding international confidence,'' said Peter Jenkins, the U.K. ambassador to the IAEA. ``It will fall to the Security Council to bring additional pressure to bear on Iran'' if the country fails to comply with the board's demands. Iranian Reply Iran's atomic energy organization is preparing a letter to the IAEA announcing Iran will resume industrial uranium enrichment, the country's semi-official news agency Fars News reported, citing an unnamed official. The letter will be submitted in a few days, Fars News said. A Russian diplomat said his country was still offering to enrich uranium for Iran, which would help maintain international control over the material fuel and restrict its use in weapons. The U.S. and the European Union backed that idea. ``Negotiations will continue and the proposal is still on the table, Russian IAEA Ambassador Grigory Berdennikov said. He expects discussions with Iran to continue later this month. Open Up Today's resolution calls on Iran stop uranium enrichment- related activities, to open military sites to UN inspectors and account for documents related to the procurement of machinery and equipment for its nuclear program. Iran was found in ``non- compliance'' with its treaty obligations by the IAEA board of governors in September. ``We want and must prevent the development of Iranian nuclear weapons,'' German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a conference on security policy in Munich. ``Iran's nuclear program creates legitimate suspicions and fears that it's not about the peaceful use of nuclear energy but also about military options.'' Iran isn't threatening to withdraw from the nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty, meaning that scheduled IAEA inspections would continue at declared nuclear sites. The IAEA ``calls on Iran to understand that there is a lack of confidence in Iran's intentions,'' the resolution says. It calls on the IAEA to ``clarify possible activities which could have a military nuclear dimension.'' Oil Concern Concern that the standoff would curtail supplies of oil from Iran, the world's fourth-largest producer, caused crude for March delivery to rise Friday. It closed up 69 cents, or 1.1 percent, higher, at $65.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contracts had jumped as much as 72 cents. Iran won't halt exports because of the dispute, Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh said Jan. 31. ``We're not talking about sanctions at this stage,'' U.S. Ambassador to the IAEA Greg Schulte said today. The Security Council has the power to impose trade embargoes and restrict international travel for Iranian officials. Cuba, Syria and Venezuela supported Iran and voted against the resolution today. Algeria, Belarus, Indonesia, Libya and South Africa abstained. The resolution adopted compromise language from a 16-nation block of developing countries that sought to link the Iranian referral to making the Middle East a nuclear weapons-free. ``A solution to the Iranian issue would contribute to global non-proliferation efforts and to realizing the objective of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction,'' the resolution said. Iran resumed nuclear research last month, heightening concern its program, which the Islamic republic claims is for peaceful purposes, could develop an atomic bomb. The U.S. and the European Union accuse Iran of using the civilian program to conceal weapons- production plans. To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Tirone in Vienna at jtirone@bloomberg.net or Judy Mathewson in Washington at (1) . Last Updated: February 4, 2006 07:54 EST
Be ready for oil to top $75 soon but stock market will keep on rocking upwards in the first half atleast. Gold will strong as it has been recently. Sometimes I suspect that there is some under the table play between US and Iran to help US solve several of its problems which are threatening to take form of a crisis.
World is an unfair place now. IAEA El-bradei is just another a puppet like kofi annan. I see iran selling the technology as result of any sanction, to southAfrica, Venezuela, brazil, indonesia .. Will US fight everyone Some idiots are trying to control the world these days
Oil will be 150 and gas will be 5 within a decade. Long term upward bias. Use your indicators to pick short term ups and downs and trade the market. If you just want to go long--use one of the Commodity Mutual Funds and dollar cost average in.
Any time milk and bottled water are more expensive than oil/energy you need to take note. How dangerous is it to milk a cow? How many cow's are there? How dangerous is it to put up and oil rig in Nigeria and keep it producing while imminent threat from rebel forces looms? How much geopolitical risk is there in the dairy market compared to that of petroleum? The public at large still has yet to discover the true value and reality of energy costs.
Right or wrong, I'm kind of suprised that countries haven't learned by now that they shouldn't fuck with the US (I'm a Canadian by the way). The language coming out of Iran right now reminds me a great deal of that Taliban guy that used to trash talk the US every day shortly after 9/11, and also reminds me somewhat of Saddam Hussein's rhetoric. We all know how those situations turned out - the US came in (with or without third-party support) and steamrolled through the country. If I were Iran, I would be very, very careful right now, because they are running the serious risk of history repeating itself in some form.
Seeing the demand and supply terms in the global oil market, even without any war etc. oil prices are going to be high for next 5+ years. So instead of enjoying the extra wealth coming to its treasury and building itself up economically, I do not understand as to why does Iran want to loggerheads with US and EU and be pretty much destroyed in the event of war or economica sanctions. There is something else which is prodding the Iranian policy towards outright illogical threats and inviting hostilities from the West.
Don't compare Taliban with iranian regime, taliban were total barbaric, their government were not even recognized by muslim countries, except saudi and UAE it's quite the opposite of what you say and think. People rather die than be slaves
Yeah, an election of Hamas by the Palestinians and an outright hatred for America and Israel. The Iranian people at large are more moderate and secular in nature, but their government doesn't care about the will of the people. When people start acknowledging that there are world leaders that just outright hate the western world and American power, the better off we will be. The Iranian theocratic power base needs the nuke to ensure the survival of their radical theocratic regime. It's not rocket science (no pun intended). Simply put, they need the leverage the nuke provides in order to ensure they can still go about funding violent terrorist activism against Israel, a nation they have publicly sworn to eradicate from the face of the planet. You also have the likes of Hugo Chavez trying to partner with the Iranians in order to try to break the Saudi hold on OPEC. You see these more radical nations seek oil bargaining power over the U.S. on the global stage.