EU for action against Iran

Britain, France and Germany were Tuesday distributing the text, "Iran: Elements for an IAEA Board Resolution" to members of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) board of governors which is meeting in Vienna this week, according to a copy of the draft obtained by AFP.

The European trio and the United States are calling for Iran to be reported to the Security Council over potentially weapons-related nuclear fuel work and threaten to push for a vote if consensus at the 35-nation board can not be achieved, diplomats told AFP.

Iran's co-operation with an investigation by the IAEA has been "marked by extensive concealment, misleading information and delays in access to nuclear material and facilities," the draft said.

That behaviour "has resulted in many breaches of its obligations to comply with its safeguards agreement," the draft said.

The draft asks the Security Council "as the organ bearing the main responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security" to call on Iran to "re-establish full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activity.

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Enriched uranium can be fuel for nuclear power reactors but also the raw material for atom bombs.

Referral to the Security Council is opposed by Russia, China and non-aligned states which support Iran's right to peaceful nuclear activities and fear that taking Iran to the top UN body, which could impose trade sanctions, could escalate the confrontation.

In Moscow, the head of the Russian atomic energy agency, Alexander Rumyantsev, told ITAR-TASS news agency: "Russia's position is that for the moment there is no reason to consider the issue of Iranian nuclear activities as very worrying."

Russia is building Iran's first nuclear power reactor.

Meanwhile, Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani warned Tuesday that Tehran could quit the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if it is subjected to the "language of force".