Superpowers Call for Sanctions on Iran

By Pamela Mortimer

The Bush administration announced on Monday that Iran has not given any response to the offer of an incentive package aimed at halting sensitive atomic activity. The lack of a reply to the offer has forced members of the U.N. Security Council to consider developing punitive measures against the country.

Senior diplomats for the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council joined with German officials to discuss Iran’s lack of response to the incentives package. The five permanent members of the council – France, Russia, the U.S., China and Britain – joined with the only non-permanent member, Germany, in a high level conference call to discuss the matter.

"We are disappointed that we have not yet received a response from Iran," State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos told reporters. "We agreed in the absence of a clear, positive response from Iran (that) we have no choice but to pursue further measures against Iran."

On July 19, the six countries imposed the informal two-week deadline for Iran to respond to the offer of economic incentives as a reward for reducing its uranium enrichment. The deadline was up this past weekend and there was "no clear response from Tehran."

A statement from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad released on Sunday stated that diplomacy was the only way to settle the "standoff" and he reiterated that he is serious about continuing negotiations. The statement was somewhat confusing considering that the Iranian President announced on Saturday that his country would not give up its "nuclear rights." The remark was taken to mean that Iran would also refuse to curtail or stop its plans to continue enriching uranium.

The conference call was initiated after Saeed Jalali, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, reported to European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana that Tehran "would deliver a written response to the offer on Tuesday," Gallegos said. It was not revealed if the proposal to initiate sanctions would be canceled if Iran chose to comply with the request.

"Iran has a clear choice: engagement or isolation," Gallegos said. "The incentives package contained everything Iran needed to pursue a modern civil nuclear power program, which Iran's leaders claim is their aim. The pressure on Iran to comply with the demands of the international community and its (U.N. Security Council) obligations will only grow."