U.N. concerned about Iran's work at nuclear facility

VIENNA, Austria -- The U.N. nuclear watchdog expressed "serious concern" Thursday over Iran's resumption of nuclear activities that could lead to an atomic bomb and diplomats said Tehran faced a September deadline to stop uranium conversion at a plant in central Iran.

The Iranians resumed work at the nuclear facility in Isfahan earlier this week, despite appeals from European negotiators to maintain a voluntary suspension of nuclear activities.

Diplomats made clear that insufficient progress by Sept. 3 could lead the board to consider reporting Iran to the U.N. Security Council, which has the power to slap the regime with crippling sanctions.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board of directors adopted a resolution that said "outstanding issues relating to Iran's nuclear program have yet to be resolved."

But it did not mention reporting the regime to the Security Council amid concerns such a move could backfire by hardening Iran's position. Iran already had said it would rather endure sanctions than back down on a program it says is a matter of national pride.

President Bush, meeting at his Texas ranch with members of his foreign policy team, welcomed the IAEA's warning to Tehran about the consequences of its nuclear ambitions. He also indicated that new Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will receive a U.S. visa to attend an annual United Nations gathering next month in New York.

European countries that have led negotiations with Iran said the resolution sent a clear message.

"We still believe there is a nonconfrontational way forward if Iran wants to take it," Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement.

Iran, which insists its nuclear program is peaceful and geared only toward producing electricity, was defiant.

"It is evident that the motive is to apply pressure," said Iran's chief IAEA delegate, Sirus Nasseri. "Fortunately, Iran will not bend. Iran will be a nuclear fuel producer and supplier within a decade."

The United States and others contend it is covertly trying to build atomic weapons.

Gregory Schulte, the U.S. envoy to the IAEA, said the adoption of the resolution "shows that the international community is united in its determination that Iran move off the dangerous course that it is on."

Iranian officials broke the IAEA seals on its conversion equipment at its nuclear plant at Isfahan on Wednesday and resumed full operation.

The U.N. watchdog also had urged Iran not to reactivate the plant, but cooperated with the Iranians after installing surveillance cameras to monitor the operations.

Some conversion activities had been restarted on Monday, a day before the IAEA board convened the emergency session on how to resolve the crisis.

The resolution expressed "serious concern" over the regime's resumption of uranium conversion at its nuclear facility at Isfahan, saying the move "underlines the importance of rectifying the situation ... and of allowing for the possibility of further discussions in relation to that situation."

However, the resolution noted that in 2004, the IAEA found that "all the declared nuclear material in Iran had been accounted for, and that such material had not been diverted to prohibited activities."

The board asked IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei to provide it with a comprehensive report on Iran's compliance with an agency safeguards agreement by Sept. 3.

Tehran rejected the text because it would bar it from converting uranium, a process it is allowed to pursue under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Nasseri said.

"All Iran wants to do is to enjoy the right under the NPT, the right which has been denied to it for more than two decades -- a denial that has been firm and decisive," he said.

Enriched uranium can be used to produce energy or to make weapons, depending on the degree to which it has been enriched.

Although the IAEA board had the power to report Tehran to the 15-nation Security Council, diplomats had made clear they were not considering that step -- widely seen as a last resort -- and instead were holding out hope for a negotiated end to the standoff.

In the past, the IAEA board has said the suspension was a voluntary but necessary confidence-building measure to alleviate concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

On Saturday, Tehran rejected a European offer of economic and political incentives, but has said it still wanted to continue with the talks, expected to continue later this month.