G8 revisits Iran sanctions, gulf persists
t a G8 meeting on Wednesday, September 26, tensions escalated between six of the members over Iran’s continued enrichment of uranium, suspected to be used in the development of undisclosed nuclear weapons. The meeting called for the introduction of tougher sanctions against Iran, following an address earlier in the week by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the United Nations General Assembly, during which he claimed that the “nuclear issue of Iran is closed,” and that he would defy any additional sanctions imposed on Iran. (1) The United States, Britain and France pushed for swift, intensified sanctions against Iran, while Russia and China opposed additional sanctions, preferring to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to continue its inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities before considering sanctions. (2) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov exchanged harsh criticisms during Wednesday’s meeting regarding the new sanctions proposal, leaving the six Foreign Ministers unable to reach an agreement. (3) By the end of the week, despite the US stated intention to increase multilateral pressure with tougher sanctions on Iran, the G8 meeting’s members ceded to Russian demands to extend the timeline until November for Iran to “show a positive outcome of their efforts” (4) based on a report from the IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei. (5)
Iran’s earlier disregard for Security Council Resolution 1737, which called for an end to all uranium enrichment programs led in March 2007, to the United Nations Security Council’s March 2007 decision to intensify sanctions through Resolution 1747 by blocking the import or export of nuclear matériel, the export of arms, and the freezing of financial assets of persons or entities supporting nuclear activities. (6) An increasingly isolated Iran rejected the United Nations Resolutions and stated that it would continue the enrichment of uranium, which it continues to claim is for peaceful purposes. (7)
The failure to reach agreement on an Iranian sanctions strategy at the recent G8 meeting further demonstrates the divide between the West and Russia. (8) The US and EU claim that Iran is enriching uranium in support of a secret nuclear weapons program, which they see as a threat to stability in the region. There also are doubts in the West regarding the effectiveness of the current IAEA inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities. The US and EU are concerned that the inspections will be ineffective and drawn-out, allowing Iran to continue its disregard of previous UN resolutions. (8) Recent comments by ElBaradei appear to be pro-Iranian, and are increasing the skepticism among some G8 members about the objectivity of his report, due in mid-November. (9) The Bush administration’s and EU’s patience for Iran’s continued uranium enrichment program is waning and, in the meantime, the West is rallying for unilateral economic sanctions against Iran.
Though Russia has supported the first two sets of sanctions against Iran, it is voicing opposition to a third, tougher set of sanctions. Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, is backing the IAEA inspections to go forward in cooperation with Iran, providing a final opportunity to fulfill the requirements set forth in UN Resolution 1747. (10) As reported by Kommersant, Lavrov sees American and European intervention in the IAEA inspections as counterproductive and unjustified. (11) Lavrov told reporters that the newly proposed sanctions against Iran are an invention "by the Americans and the French, not us.” (12) From the Russian perspective, this American-led initiative, for which Congress has approved additional sanctions against Iran this week, undermines the legitimacy of the UN Security Council decision and a successful resolution to this issue. Russia has resisted intense pressure from the West in a clear sign that it is willing to shield Iran, or at least buy a little extra time for Iran to reveal its nuclear intentions.
China and Russia do not claim to support a nuclear Iran, but both countries have significant political and economic ties with Iran. It is estimated that between 2001 and 2005 Russia and Iran concluded $1.7 million in arms transfer agreements. (13) Russia also is engaged heavily in energy plans with Iran, specifically with the Bushehr nuclear power plant, completed construction of which has been delayed to 2008, reportedly due to Iran’s debt on the project. (14) These economic agreements have factored into the drive by Russia to continue diplomatic negotiations with Iran to disclose the purpose of its uranium enrichment program. Russia also might be taking into consideration the possibility of American led military action against Iran, which would cause further instability in Russia’s relations in the region. Although it is predicted that Russia eventually will side with the West, if Iran fails the IAEA inspections, perhaps Russia’s attempt to shield Iran in the face of intense pressure by the West is enough to convince Iran that Russia remains an ally and to ensure the continuation of its economic relations.
Source Notes:
(1) US News and World Report, Thomas Omestad, “Just a War of Words, at least for Now,” 29 Sep 07 via http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/world/2007/09/28/tehran-stays-defiant.html.
(2) Kommersant, Sergei Strokan, “Russia Goes Out of Its Way to Shield Iran, Again,” 28 Sep 07 via http://www.kommersant.com/p809011/Iran_Russia_US_UN/.
(3) Ibid.
(4) The New York Times, “Split in Group Delays Vote on Sanctions Against Iran,” 28 Sep 07 via http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/world/middleeast/29iran.html?ref=middleeast.
(5) The Associated Press, 29 Sep 07, http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hIYBt5PA9hCg85Ze1WxFQB8btuNgD8RUP3O00.
(6) The United Nations Security Council, Resolution 1737 (2006) via http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8928.doc.htm.
(7) CNN.com International, “Iran’s President Wants to Address the UN Security Council” via http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/03/15/iran.nuclear/index.html.
(8) Reuters, Evelyn Leopold, “France says Russia Wants to Delay Iran Sanctions,” 27 Sep 07 via http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2007-09-27T163439Z_01_N27357492_RTRUKOC_0_US-NUCLEAR-IRAN-UN.xml.
(9) Associated Press, George Jahn, “Head of IAEA Defies Criticism on Iran,” 29 Sep 07 via http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gKssGBuno1ofs18QmGmVxXzg6FRwD8RV6PC80.
(10) RIA Novosti, “Has Ahmadinejad saved Iran from sanctions?” 27 Sep 07 via http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20070927/81351709.html.
(11) Kommersant, Sergei Strokan, ibid.
(12) Reuters, Evelyn Leopold, “France says Russia Wants to Delay Iran Sanctions,” 27 Sep 07 via http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2007-09-27T163439Z_01_N27357492_RTRUKOC_0_US-NUCLEAR-IRAN-UN.xml.
(13) Council on Foreign Relations, Lionel Beehner, “Russia-Iran Arms Trade,” 1 Nov 06 via http://www.cfr.org/publication/11869/.
(14) Forbes, “Russia says Iran nuclear plant will not open before 2008,” 4 Jul 07 via http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2007/07/04/afx3883723.html.
By Melissa McGann (mmcgann@bu.edu) // ISCIP
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