Major powers are expected to begin discussing an Iran sanctions resolution at a meeting in Europe next week if Tehran continues to defy a UN Security Council demand to halt uranium enrichment, the US State Department said today.
On the eve of a UN deadline, spokesman Sean McCormack said the expectation is that Iran will not comply with UN demands so US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns and top officials from Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany will meet "early next week."
He gave no specific time or place.
Burns "is going to be traveling to Europe, I believe, next week, early next week. That would probably be the first convocation of that group (of major powers) looking at specific language for a resolution," McCormack said.
Senior US officials have acknowledged it may take some time to negotiate the resolution, which McCormack said must send a "substantial signal" to Tehran by imposing sanctions as promised last June.
However, even after discussions on a resolution begin, Iran could still choose to end its enrichment activities and trigger broader negotiations on a package of Western incentives, he said.
A UN nuclear watchdog report tomorrow is likely to conclude that Tehran has ignored a deadline to halt an atomic fuel program Western leaders say could lead to bombs.
Ahead of the August 31 deadline, Tehran vowed never to scrap the project. It also continues to enrich uranium in small quantities at a pilot plant, diplomats say.
The United States claims major powers are united on Iran but Russia and China remain cool to sanctions.