US ready for UN vote with or without Russia, China

After an informal meeting at Britain's UN Mission, council members said they made progress in a paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the draft resolution. Britain's UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry acknowledged, however, that the most contentious issues were not discussed in detail.

"We are still working to achieve unanimity ... but we're prepared to go to a vote without it," US Ambassador John Bolton said. "We're not prepared to extend these negotiations endlessly ... I think it's realistic to consider this for a vote next week."

The resolution, co-sponsored by Britain and France and backed by the US, would make mandatory the previous Security Council demands that Iran suspend uranium enrichment, plutonium reprocessing, and construction of a heavy-water nuclear reactor.

The draft states that the "proliferation risk" posed by Iran constitutes a threat to international peace and security, and the resolution would be adopted under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which can be enforced by sanctions or if necessary military action.

Russia and China, which both have veto power, and some nonpermanent members contend that there is no evidence that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons as the US and its allies believe and they object to the call for possible "further measures" to ensure Tehran's compliance.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed "the search for a diplomatic solution of the Iranian nuclear problem" with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday.

"It is too early to say which changes should be made to the draft resolution to satisfy Russia," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak said in Moscow on Saturday, according to the RIA Novosti, ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agencies.

Bolton said he had told the Russians and Chinese four days ago to come up with some creative way to make the resolution mandatory without Chapter 7, and was still waiting for their proposals.

"There's no dispute about the basic course of conduct that we want Iran to pursue," he said.

But Jones Parry said he did not envision a resolution without Chapter 7.

Qatar's UN Ambassador Nassir Al-Nasser said after Saturday's meeting that "the text language for some delegations is very unacceptable" and he is waiting for a revised text.