Iaea Report on Iran Means Intl Community Divided - Lawmaker

May 24, 06:51 PM

Current Headlines: MOSCOW. May 24 (Interfax) - The latest report on Iran by the UN nuclear watchdog makes it evident that the international community is divided on what line to take on Iran's nuclear program, said a senior member of the Russian parliament.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's report accuses Iran of flouting a UN Security Council resolution.

"The United States is insisting on heavier pressure, new sanctions and does not rule out the use of force in the long term as a solution to the problem. The majority of European countries, just as Russia, are certain the situation must be dealt with by purely diplomatic, but not military means," Mikhail Margelov, head of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, told Interfax.

"The head of the IAEA has even gone as far as proposing that Iran should be permitted to partially enrich uranium on its territory. All this means there is no consensus in the search for further steps in trying to solve the problem of the Iranian nuclear program. I think what is important now is to strike a balance among all these positions," he said.

He suggested that all diplomatic means be used to persuade Iran to comply with UN Security Council resolutions.

"Various kinds of sanctions, political and economic pressure, and a system of compensation for dropping the nuclear program - all this may be used to put pressure on Iran, but there is nothing good about the fact that one of our regional neighbors is suspected of developing nuclear weapons," he said.

Yet it will be even worse if such weapons start exploding near the Russian border, Margelov said.

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