P6_TA(2006)0060

Iran

European Parliament resolution on the confrontation between Iran and the international community

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions of 13 October 2005 [1] and of 17 November 2005 [2] on Iran,

- having regard to the conclusions of the General Affairs Council of 30 and 31 January 2006,

- having regard to the resolutions of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors of 24 September 2005 and 4 February 2006 on the implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran,

- having regard to the reports of the IAEA Director General of 2 September 2005 and 18 November 2005 on the implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran,

- having regard to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) 1968 and notably its Article IV, which provides that "[n]othing in this Treaty shall be interpreted as affecting the inalienable right of all the Parties to the Treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination and in conformity with Articles I and II of this Treaty",

- having regard to the E3/EU statement of 13 January 2006 and the statement by UK Foreign Minister Jack Straw following the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union in London on 30 January 2006,

- having regard to the Paris Agreement of 15 November 2004 between the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran) and the United Kingdom, France and Germany (E3) and to Iran's decision of 1 August 2005 to resume uranium conversion activities in contravention of the provisions of that Agreement,

- having regard to the UN General Assembly resolution of 11 January 2006 at its 60th session on the follow-up to nuclear disarmament obligations agreed to at the 1995 and 2000 Review Conferences of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,

- having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas public statements of President Ahmadinejad have denied Israel's right to exist and the reality of the Holocaust,

B. whereas the Director General of the IAEA, Mohammed El Baradei, has expressed his serious concerns on numerous occasions and has reported that, after two-and-a-half years of intensive inspections and investigation, the IAEA is not yet in a position to clarify some important issues,

C. whereas on 1 August 2005, Iran decided to resume uranium-conversion activities in contravention of its obligations under the Paris Agreement, and whereas on 8 August 2005 Iran resumed uranium conversion activities at its Isfahan facility and took steps to resume enrichment activities on 10 January 2006,

D. whereas the IAEA resolution of 4 February 2006 refers to the "absence of confidence" in the peaceful purposes of Iran's nuclear programme and states that, "Iran's full transparency is indispensable and overdue for the Agency to be able to clarify outstanding issues",

E. whereas the IAEA has reiterated its concern about the continuing gaps in its understanding of many proliferation-sensitive aspects of Iran's nuclear programme,

F. whereas the IAEA has repeatedly requested Iran's cooperation in following up on reports and has offered different solutions, including that of enriching uranium in Russia, but Iran has failed to make clear its position on those proposals,

G. whereas in November 2005, the Director General of the IAEA reported that Iran was in possession of a document related to the procedural requirements for the reduction of UF6 to metal in small quantities, and on the casting and machining of enriched, natural and depleted uranium metal into hemispherical forms, which, as reported by IAEA, is a process related to the fabrication of nuclear weapons components,

H. whereas on 30 January 2006, the Foreign Ministers of China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and the US and the High Representative of the EU agreed that an extraordinary IAEA Board meeting should report to the UN Security Council, which would defer any action until after the IAEA Director General's report to the Board meeting of 6 March 2006 and any IAEA resolution adopted at that meeting,

I. whereas on 5 February 2006, the Iranian government announced that it would cease all voluntary cooperation with the IAEA and that it would allow no further unannounced IAEA inspections on Iranian nuclear premises, as permitted by the Additional Protocol to the NPT, and on 6 February 2006, further announced that it would remove IAEA surveillance cameras and agency seals from sites and nuclear equipment,

J. whereas the last NPT Review Conference in 2005 failed to strengthen a multilateral initiative against the threat of proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction,

K. whereas EU relations with Iran have been based on a threefold approach, characterised by negotiations on a trade and cooperation agreement, political dialogue and a human rights dialogue, and whereas the political dialogue has been suspended because of the current crisis,

1. Reiterates its condemnation of President Ahmadinejad's threatening remarks against Israel, which do not inspire confidence in the Iranian Government's intentions to adopt a peaceful and constructive role in the Middle East; therefore criticises President Ahmadinejad's meeting with representatives of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad during his recent trip to Syria and demands that Iran immediately cease any support of terrorist groups;

2. Expresses its deep concern about the present attitude of the Iranian authorities to Iran's nuclear programme, notably to the removal of seals at several nuclear installations, and its decision to resume enrichment-related activities;

3. Endorses the IAEA's resolution of 4 February 2006, which criticises Iran for non-compliance with the IAEA's recommendations and which underlines the resulting absence of confidence in Iran's intention to use its nuclear programme exclusively for peaceful purposes;

4. Supports the IAEA's request, in its resolution of 4 February 2006, to ask its Director General to report to the UN Security Council and to elaborate on all the reports and resolutions adopted by the IAEA in relation to this issue;

5. Considers that, in accordance with the IAEA's resolution of 24 September 2005, it is necessary for Iran to re-establish the full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, to reconsider the construction of a research reactor moderated by heavy water, to ratify promptly and resume full implementation of the Additional Protocol and, in general terms, to implement the transparency measures requested by the IAEA Director General;

6. Reaffirms that Iran has the right to develop a nuclear programme in conformity with Article IV of the NPT and supports the initiatives and proposals of the EU 3 and other international partners for cooperation with Iran in the nuclear field for peaceful purposes; at the same time reiterates its call on the Iranian Government to refrain from threatening any state and to act with respect for the principles of the Charter of the United Nations;

7. Considers that, as proposed by the IAEA, the involvement of the UN Security Council constitutes a necessary step on the road to assessing the present situation and agrees with the Council's conclusions calling for the strengthening of the role of the IAEA; takes the view that this move should prevent a further deterioration of the present situation; calls on the Member States to coordinate closely their initiatives within the IAEA and the UN;

8. Confirms that this issue must be resolved in accordance with international law, and takes the view that this will require a cooperative and transparent approach towards the IAEA on the part of the Iranian government; supports, in this context, the E3's commitment to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and calls on all the parties involved to do their utmost to make progress towards a negotiated settlement of the nuclear dispute before the IAEA Director General's report to the Board meeting of 6 March 2006;

9. Stresses the importance of cooperation with the USA, Russia, China and non-aligned countries in order to consider complementary action with a view to achieving a comprehensive agreement with Iran concerning its nuclear facilities and their use, which takes account of Iran's security concerns;

10. Invites Iran to consider seriously the Russian uranium enrichment process proposal, shared by the E3, which would allow Iran to advance its nuclear programme within a multilateral framework; considers that such a solution must be acknowledged as a proposed improvement to the present rules, under IAEA control, for any interested countries, and calls on the European Union to support proposals such as that of the UN High-Level Panel of Experts to achieve multilateral administration of uranium enrichment, for example for the Middle Eastern Region, with distribution placed under the control of the IAEA;

11. Deeply regrets that all attempts in the year 2005 to achieve progress in nuclear disarmament, the NPT revision, and the UN reform summit, utterly failed;

12. Commends the IAEA Director General and Secretariat for their professional and impartial efforts to implement the Safeguards Agreement in Iran; stresses that the involvement of the Security Council does not end the IAEA's current responsibilities and urges Iran to allow it to continue to make full use of control and inspection capacities;

13. Calls on Iran to take advantage of its enormous energy reserves and technological know-how in order to invest in the development of renewable energies and the modern and rational use of fossil energies;

14. Takes the view that the establishment of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East could be an important step towards meeting the security concerns of the countries of that region;

15. Calls on the Commission to implement all actions that are to be taken in the framework of the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights in order to intensify contacts and cooperation with Iran's civil society, its independent media, and its democratic opposition, and furthermore to support, together with the European Parliament, democracy and respect for human rights in Iran;

16. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the governments and parliaments of the Islamic Republic of Iran and all other states referred to in this resolution, the Director General of the IAEA and the UN Secretary-General.

[1] Text adopted P6_TA(2005)0382.

[2] Text adopted P6_TA(2005)0441.

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