Call for more pressure on Iran nuclear programme

The chief US delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency today called on Europe to put more pressure on Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities.

Gregory Schulte told a forum in Munich that he applauded the EU’s “swift action” to implement a new UN resolution on Iran, but said more needs to be done.

“Faced by the defiance of Iran’s leadership, the European Union and European countries can do more – and should do more – to bolster our common diplomacy,” he said, according to a statement.

“Why, for example, are European governments using export credits to subsidise exports to Iran? Why, for example, are European governments not taking more measures to discourage investment and financial transactions?” he was reported as saying.

Iran has thus far shrugged off the threat of new and tougher UN sanctions and has set up more than 300 centrifuges in two uranium enrichment units, diplomats and officials said.

The move potentially opens the way for larger-scale enrichment operations that could be used to create the fissile payload in nuclear warheads.

Iran, however, says its nuclear programme is to produce energy.

It also poses a direct challenge to the UN Security Council, which has imposed limited sanctions targeting programmes and individuals linked to Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes – and warned of stricter penalties unless Iran freezes enrichment.

Schulte said Europe should be “using the full range of non-military measures at its disposal” to put pressure on Iran.

“A non-military campaign, if serious and sustained, and supported by other like-minded countries, has the potential to succeed against a regime that has failed to deliver on its economic promises, that needs foreign investment to sustain government revenue, and that faces increasing opposition at home,” he said.