http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/15831724.htm West wants Iran technology sales banned GEORGE JAHN Associated Press VIENNA, Austria - The U.S. and its allies want the U.N. Security Council to ban the sale of missile and atomic technology to Iran and end most U.N. help for its nuclear programs - moves diplomats said Tuesday are narrowly focused in hopes of winning Russian and Chinese backing for sanctions. The diplomats, who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the draft resolution was not yet public, said the proposal also would commit U.N. member nations to denying entry to Iranian officials involved in developing missiles or nuclear systems. A Security Council resolution passed last week imposed similar sanctions on the sale or transfer of technology that could contribute to North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs after that nation's test explosion of a nuclear bomb. One of the diplomats described all three measures aimed at Iran as moderate in impact, saying that was an attempt to win Russian and Chinese support. Moscow and Beijing could be formally presented with the draft later this week, the diplomat said. Both Russia and China have agreed in principle to imposing sanctions over Iran's defiance of a council ultimatum to freeze uranium enrichment and sharply improve cooperation with the U.N. probe of suspect Iranian atomic activities. But both continue to publicly push for dialogue instead of U.N. punishment, despite the collapse last month of a European Union attempt to entice Iran into talks. The EU proposed Iran at least temporarily freeze enrichment as a condition for multilateral talks meant to erase suspicions it may be trying to build nuclear arms in violation of its treaty commitments. As permanent members of the council, Russia and China hold the power to veto its actions, as do the United States, France and Britain, which drew up the sanctions resolution. Iran insists it won't halt uranium enrichment, which it says is intended solely to produce fuel for nuclear reactors that will generate electricity. But enrichment also can produce material for nuclear warheads, and the U.S. and others are suspicious of Iran's intentions. Canceling technical assistance to Iran from the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, would do little to ease such fears. But as the first such withdrawal of IAEA help, it would send a strong signal of international displeasure with Tehran. IAEA technical programs, which are freely available to all member countries, are restricted to medical or agricultural help, nuclear safety expertise and other peaceful applications that cannot be diverted for weapons purposes. Typical projects, as listed in a confidential IAEA document seen by AP, involve the disposal of radioactive waste produced by nuclear reactors and the use of narrowly targeted radiotherapy for tumors. In a bow to Russia, the draft resolution exempts IAEA technical cooperation on operational safety and legal advice at Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility being built by the Russians. The facility would be Iran's first atomic power plant and the Tehran government recently allocated about $245 million to finish it. The facility is now projected to go on line in late 2007, nearly a year later than originally envisaged. It was unclear how any eventual sanctions might impact Russia's planned sale of 29 Tor-M1 air defense missile systems to Iran. Analysts in Russia have said Moscow might scuttle the deal as part of a give-and-take with Washington over sanctions. One of the diplomats who spoke with AP said Washington had wanted to include Bushehr and ban all IAEA technical cooperation but reluctantly agreed with Britain and France that Russia would not go along. A U.N. official said Tehran would probably depict any sanctions as a U.S.-inspired blow against Iranian programs that aid the poor by using nuclear technology to treat the sick and to increase agricultural yields by reducing crop pests. Additionally, he said, Iran will argue that no evidence has been found proving it seeks to make nuclear weapons despite more than three years of IAEA probes. As such, Tehran will say it has a continued right to IAEA technical aid as an agency member in good standing, he said. Iran has shrugged off the threat of sanctions. Diplomats told AP on Monday that experts had begun testing a second enrichment facility at Natanz, in central Iraq, over the past few weeks in defiance of the council's ban on such activities. Iran produced a small batch of low-enriched uranium - suitable for reactor fuel but not weapons - in February, using its initial cascade of 164 centrifuges at its pilot plant at Natanz. Iran has said it plans to install 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz by the end of this year, but experts have said industrial-scale production of enriched uranium would require 54,000 centrifuges. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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