by Mehrnaz Shahabi (source: CASMII)
Monday, January 28, 2008

Dear Sir

The FT report (28/01/08) entitled “UN Pressed for third round of sanctions on Iran”  http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/97662ba8-cd41-11dc-9b2b-000077b07658.html by Harvey Morris and Daniel Dombey, makes serious distortions in relation to the current proceedings about Iran’s nuclear programme and the Security Council resolutions.

The authors claim that the “Western states today begin the uphill task of persuading fellow members of the United Nations Security Council that a third round of modest economic sanctions would force Iran to come clean about its nuclear ambitions where earlier measures had failed”. They also refer to “Tehran's intransigence in the face of demands that it reveal its nuclear secrets and suspend enrichment of uranium”. This is clear misinformation about the current proceedings and more importantly about the Security Council resolutions on Iran.
The two round of Security Council resolutions and the prospective third resolution, unjustified and illegitimate as they are, have been imposed solely to enforce suspension of uranium enrichment and are not about forcing Iran “to come clean” or its “intransigence in the face of demands that it reveal its nuclear secrets”. Moreover, the IAEA-Iran workplan initiated in July 07 has been consistently and with Iran’s full co-operation clarifying all outstanding issues in relation to Iran’s nuclear programme. The workplan which is to be concluded in March 08, has cleared Iran of all the major US accusations including P2 centrifuges and Plutonium experiments, it has declared that there is no evidence of weaponisation and that Iran's enrichment facilities remain In peaceful use. Iran has even gone beyond Its legal obligations by voluntarily agreeing to the intrusive and snap inspections of the Additional Protocol and inspections of sites not covered by the NPT.

The authors then contradict their distortion by referring to the NIE’s own findings and concluding that “the Europeans argue that the crisis was never about Iran's progress towards building a bomb but rather its acquisition of the technology and materials to do so”. It is therefore clear that not only Iran’s co-operation and transparency, which the authors falsify, but even the suspension of enrichment itself would not satisfy the US and its western allies. It indicates that SC resolutions and sanctions, as far as the agenda of the US and its Western allies are concerned, are directed towards eventual confrontation for the control of strategic and energy resources.

In reality, the US’s push for further sanctions despite Tehran’s full cooperation and despite the findings of the IAEA and the NIE is meant to jeopardize the IAEA-Iran Agreement. The findings of the IAEA and the NIE confirm the politicised nature of the Security Council resolutions and sanctions against Iran and warrant the necessity for Iran’s file to be returned to the jurisdiction of the IAEA.

May I request that in the interest of responsible journalism and in the way of amendment, the FT publish this letter.

Yours sincerely
Mehrnaz Shahabi
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII)