IRAN UPDATE

News and comment on the diplomatic movements over Iran's nuclear programme

No. 86 - 30 March 2007

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SUMMARY

• UN Security Council votes unanimously on increased sanctions
• Ahmadinejad says he will not bow to "illegal" resolution
• Iran captures 15 members of British navy
• US Navy begins military exercises in Persian Gulf

The UN Security Council voted unanimously in favour of Resolution 1747 imposing increased financial sanctions on Iran and a freeze on arms exports. US concessions, accepting proposed amendments by temporary UNSC members, indicate that sustaining international consensus might prove more important to the US than securing the strongest possible resolution. The resolution gives Iran 60 days to cease uranium enrichment or face further sanctions.

The UNSC renewed calls for talks and the offer of a technological and economic incentive package for Iran. Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, was given the go ahead to enter new discussions with Ali Larijiani, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the resolution was “not legal” and that he had no intention of suspending Iran’s nuclear programme. As a result of the new resolution, Iran announced a partial suspension of its cooperation with the IAEA, specifically regarding code 1-3 of the IAEA’s Safeguard Agreement which stipulates that any advances or changes to Iran’s nuclear program must be reported to the IAEA. Iran stated that partial cooperation would remain until its case is returned to the IAEA from the UN Security Council.

15 members of the British navy were captured off the coast of Shatt Al Arab, the long disputed dividing waterway between Iran and Iraq. Prime Minister Blair described the servicemen’s activities as a “routine” anti smuggling patrol. Blair warned that Iran’s actions could have “very serious” implications and that, if not resolved promptly, could catapult the situation into another “phase”. Blair has also called upon the international community to help secure the release of the marines. Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett announced a freeze on all other official bilateral relations with Iran until the situation is resolved.

Iran claims the troops were trespassing in Iranian waters, maintaining the troops had “confessed” as much, and considers this to have been an act of “aggression”. The Iranian foreign ministry has denied speculation that the navy personnel will be used as a bargaining chip to secure the release of Iranian officers arrested by US forces in Irbil earlier this year. In a recent development, Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has stated that one of the captured marines, Faye Turney, would be released over the next two days.

The Russian state owned company working on the Bushehr plant, Atomstroiexport, has said that Iran has made the first instalment of payments due since Russia halted work on the reactor citing financial issues with Iran.

The US Navy has begun military exercises in the Persian Gulf on a scale unseen since the run up to the Iraqi War.

Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates, has announced that the UAE would not be part of any conflict between Iran and the West nor would it be a launch pad for strikes in either direction.

Sara Refai, Crisis Action

STORIES AND LINKS

Iran tensions push oil to 2007 high, equities flat - 26/3

Rising diplomatic tension over Iran drove oil prices to their highest level of the year on Monday, while the dollar was supported by easing expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut. European equities were flat with investors wary about setbacks after the equity price tumbles of late February, early March. The price of oil returned to centre stage as New York crude up 55 cents a barrel at $62.83 and London Brent rising 71 cents to $63.88 a barrel.
http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/
idUSSP6828720070326

India to go ahead with Iran gas pipeline project: Pranab - 26/3
Ignoring United States' objections, India on Monday said it will go ahead with the proposed gas pipeline project with Iran.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India_to_go_ahead_with_
Iran_gas_pipeline_project_Pranab/articleshow/1811381.cms

Embassies in Teheran Prepare Escape Plans - 23/3/
Several foreign embassies in Teheran are updating their emergency evacuation plans should a Western or Israeli attack on Iran occur
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1173879153851
&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Iran planning to stop using U.S. dollar to price oil, central bank governor says - 28/3
Iran is planning to stop using the U.S. dollar to price oil, with less than half of its oil income now paid in the U.S. currency, Iran's central bank governor said
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/28/business/
AS-FIN-Malaysia-Iran-Oil-Dollars.php

Options Limited in Iran Stand-Off - 28/3
The British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett returned to London early from a visit to Turkey after an inconclusive phone conversation with the Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6499781.stm

U.S. worried that Iran supplied weapons to Iraq & Lebanon
More than 20 months ago, the United States secretly sent Iran a diplomatic protest charging that Tehran was supplying lethal roadside explosive devices to Shiite extremists in Iraq, according to American officials familiar with the message.
http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/03/us_worried_that.php

Iran May Let Turkey See Captured Soldiers - 28/3
Turkish diplomats may be allowed to meet with the 15 British servicemen who were seized by Iran, a Turkish television station quoted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying Wednesday.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1173879195604
&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

Britain Must Leave Iran in no Doubt of its Anger - 26/3
We wait anxiously to see whether this weakened and discredited Prime Minister has the necessary spine to do what is required, or whether Britain will persist in presenting its weakest aspect to a potential enemy.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?
xml=/opinion/2007/03/26/dl2601.xml

Analysis: Iran Thumbs its Nose at the World - 26/3
By removing 15 British soldiers at gunpoint the day before the UN Security Council decided on new sanctions directed at Iran, the Iranians were saying quite clearly that they just don't give a damn.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1173879172761
&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Iran “Has Days” to Respond - 26/3
Reports on some blogs and newspapers over the weekend suggested that the captives might be tried for espionage. The BBC plays down the espionage claims, reporting that Tehran has warned the men's fate "is being considered legally."
http://eursoc.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/1492/
Iran__Has_Days__To_Respond.html

The Big Question: What is the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and who controls them? - 27/3
Known in Persian as the Pasdaran, the guards emerged from the tumult of Iran's 1979 revolution. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's followers were unwilling to trust the police or the army to maintain revolutionary discipline, so formed the guards as a nationwide militia.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/
article2396032.ece

Behind Russia and Iran's Nuclear Reactor Dispute - 26/3
Developments during the last several weeks seem to suggest that Russia is reconsidering its nuclear cooperation with Iran.
http://www.thebulletin.org/columns/pavel-podvig/20070326.html