By Sue Pleming
Reuters, Washington – The United States expects the United Nations will act fast next month to punish Iran over its nuclear program, with Washington arguing the case for sanctions has been bolstered by Iran’s role in Lebanon.
U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, who handles much of the Iran portfolio at the State Department, said on Thursday he expected the U.N. Security Council would "take up its responsibilities" and impose sanctions if Tehran did not stop its enrichment program.
"We have an agreement with Russia and China and with the other members of the (U.N. Security) Council that we will go to Chapter 7 sanctions (if Iran does not comply)," Burns told reporters.
Iran, along with Syria, is suspected of backing Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon’s war with Israel and Burns said there was growing concern about Tehran’s role in the Middle East.
"The will of a lot of countries has been strengthened by watching the Iranian government trying to destabilize both Lebanon and Israel over the last 30-40 days."
He added: "I think that will reinforce the effort to hold Iran accountable should they not provide the clear answer needed (to give up their nuclear program)."
Some analysts believe the U.S. obsession with pointing fingers at Iran during the Lebanon conflict was part of a campaign to further isolate Tehran before any Security Council action.
Burns declined to comment when asked if the United States was planning military action against Iran and whether Israel’s campaign against Hizbollah was a prelude to that.
"I’m not going to speculate beyond that on what we may or may not do to stop the Iranian government. We are focused on the diplomatic play here and we have a lot of support around the world," he said.
IRANIAN DEFIANCE
Earlier on Thursday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said his country could not abandon its nuclear program while the United States was developing new atomic bombs every year.
The United States and its allies suspect Iran is developing a nuclear bomb and accuse it of hiding its research for the past 18 years. Tehran denies the charge.
The United Nations passed a resolution on July 31 under Article 41 of Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter demanding that Iran suspend its nuclear activities by the end of August or face sanctions. Article 41 refers to economic sanctions.
"I think we would want to move very quickly in the first part of September toward a debate in the Security Council about sanctions. They will be well-deserved as this has gone on a long time," said Burns.
Veto powers Russia and China may not be on board.
While Russia and China voted in favor of the U.N. resolution, both nations have in the past been reluctant to impose sanctions. Moscow made clear last month that the sanctions provisions meant the council would have a "discussion" on punitive measures.
Iran has set itself an August 22 deadline to respond to a demand by six world powers that Tehran scrap its enrichment program in return for economic and other incentives. Iran has so far shown no signs it will accept.
Burns called the August 22 deadline a "mythical date," adding that Ahmadinejad’s comments that his country would continue with enrichment were "just not going to be good enough."
