Six Key Nations Meeting At UN To Discuss Iran
Wang Guangya (center), China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, is among the meeting's participants and show here on March 14 at the UN (epa)
The officials from
Russia, the United States, France, Britain, and China, along with a German diplomat, are to discuss possible action against Iran if it continues to enrich uranium, a process that produces fuel for nuclear reactors, but can also produce materials used in atomic weapons.
The Security Council has been trying to reach agreement on a draft statement that would urge Iran to comply with demands of the UN's nuclear watchdog agency and restore international confidence in Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran says is of a peaceful nature only.
(compiled from agency reports)
Economic sanctions could further undermine Iran's already shaky economy (Fars)
MOVING TOWARD SANCTIONS: If the United Nations Security Council imposes sanctions on Iran, domestic support for Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad will wane, according to ALEX VATANKA, Eurasia editor for Jane's Information Group.
Vatanka told a February 24 RFE/RL briefing that "economic sanctions will hurt the average Iranian" and, consequently, many "will blame the ruling clerics" for making life difficult and "impairing the country's long term development."
Vatanka said sanctions would be a serious challenge to the Iranian government. If harsh economic sanctions were imposed, Iran's poorest population will be hurt the hardest -- and might react "as they did in the 1970s and protest in the streets." Sanctions on travel, Vatanka said, would hurt a many Iranians because "Iran is a nation of small traders" who depend on the ability to travel to earn an income. According to Vatanka, unemployment in Iran is estimated at 30 percent, "so small trading is essential to survival." Although current U.S. sanctions "haven't worked," he said, "Iranians fear an oil embargo." He stressed that "oil revenues are a major part of the economy, so it is critical to look at this sector."
Should negotiations with the European Union and the UN fail, Vatanka believes that Iran would follow a "North Korea model," since Ahmadinejad's base of support among the "Islamist militias" has been "urging withdrawal from the NPT [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]." The Iranian government's "tactic" so far, Vatanka said, is governed by the belief that "by shouting the loudest, you'll get concessions [from the West]."
LISTEN
Listen to the complete panel discussion (about 60 minutes):
Real Audio
Windows Media
THE COMPLETE STORY: RFE/RL's coverage of the controversy surrounding Iran's nuclear program.
CHRONOLOGY
An annotated timeline of Iran's nuclear program.