Rumsfeld warns Tehran on flow of arms to Iraq

Sydney Morning Herald:

By Michael Gawenda Herald Correspondent in Washington and agencies

August 11, 2005

Tensions between the US and Iran have escalated, with the Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, saying that new sophisticated weapons found in Iraq had clearly come from Iran and President George Bush saying he was "deeply suspicious" of the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions.

Mr Rumsfeld said he did not know whether the weapons had been sent to Iraq by the Iranian Government or "from other parties in that country".

"What we do know is that the Iranians did not stop them coming in [to Iraq]," he said at a Pentagon press conference.

While Mr Rumsfeld did not specify the sort of weapons he was talking about, Pentagon officials point to the more lethal bombs used by insurgents in recent times. One such bomb killed 14 US marines last week in north-west Iraq when their lightly armoured amphibious vehicle was destroyed by a roadside blast.

"These weapons are a problem for the Iraqi Government, for the coalition forces, for the international community and ultimately it's a problem for Iran," Mr Rumsfeld said. He said this was not meant as a threat, but as a warning to the Iranians that they "live in the neighbourhood" and most people in the region want the violence in Iraq to end.

As Mr Rumsfeld was accusing Iran of arming insurgents in Iraq, Mr Bush told a press conference that he was "deeply suspicious" of Iran's nuclear intentions, but that the country's new President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had indicated that he wanted negotiations with European Union representatives to continue.

"I think that's a positive sign that the Iranians are getting a message that it's not just the United States that's worried about their nuclear programs, but the Europeans are serious in calling the Iranians to account and negotiating," he said.

Mr Bush stopped short of calling for the EU and the US to refer Iran's alleged breaches of its obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty to the United Nations Security Council, saying there was still a chance that negotiations between the EU three - France, Germany and Britain - would succeed.

But State Department officials were pessimistic. A spokesman, Adam Ereli, said the US was prepared to "give Iran one last chance" to negotiate a deal with "our EU allies" before seeking to refer Tehran to the Security Council, though he conceded that getting the council to agree on sanctions would be tough.

Russia and China have indicated they would veto any resolution imposing sanctions on Iran.

Iran said on Monday it would resume uranium enrichment at its nuclear plant in Isfahan, rejecting a EU package of economic and technological incentives in return for an agreement to halt all uranium enrichment work.

A hastily convened meeting in Vienna of the International Atomic Energy Agency has so far been unable to persuade Iran to halt the resumption of its nuclear program, even though Russia has joined in urging Iran to do so.

■ North Korea has put the onus squarely on the US to resolve the stand-off in nuclear disarmament negotiations, saying Washington must drop its insistence that Pyongyang abandon plans for a nuclear power plant.

Kim Kye-gwan, the North's chief negotiator in the six-nation disarmament talks being held in Beijing, which began a recess on Sunday, made no mention of the other five nations in the negotiations and suggested no further flexibility on his part.

North Korea's "stand on the nuclear issue is very clear," China's Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying on Tuesday. "Now it's up to the US to change its policy."

CHAIN REACTION

September 2003 International Atomic Energy Agency gives Iran weeks to prove it is not pursuing atomic weapons.

November Iran suspends uranium conversion and allows tougher inspections; agency says there is no proof of weapons program.

June 2004 Agency rebukes Iran for not fully co-operating with its inquiries. November Iran suspends uranium conversion at Isfahan research plant in deal with European Union.

August 2005 Iran rejects EU proposals and resumes work on uranium processing.