AJC Urges New Sanctions After IAEA Board Rebukes Iran

NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC welcomed today's International Atomic Energy Agency resolution on Iran's nuclear program, but also expressed disappointment that the UN watchdog agency's board did not agree on any punitive measures. The IAEA board resolution comes ten days after the IAEA released a comprehensive report on Iran's nuclear program.

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"IAEA Director Yukiya Amano's powerfully incisive report confirmed beyond any doubt that Iran indeed has been working to build nuclear weapons," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "Without a concerted effort to follow up on the IAEA report, Iran will continue to advance towards crossing the nuclear threshold. That would be a calamity for world peace and security."

The resolution was adopted in Vienna today by a vote of 32 to 2, with one abstention. The final text was based on a compromise reached between major powers. While China and Russia voted in favor, both had rejected language supported by European nations and the U.S. to refer Iran again to the UN Security Council.

The resolution expressed "serious concern that Iran continues to defy the requirements and obligations contained in the relevant IAEA Board of Governors and UN Security Council Resolutions." It also expressed "deep and increasing concern about the unresolved issues regarding the Iranian nuclear program, including those which need to be clarified to exclude the existence of possible military dimensions."

"Director Amano has demonstrated courage, tenacity and responsibility in cutting through the lies and evasions of the Iranian regime to reveal the truth about the nuclear program's military dimensions," said Harris. "The right mix of economic and political sanctions still has a chance to stop the nuclear threat revealed in the IAEA report from becoming a nightmarish reality. But those efforts are undermined by nations that continue business as usual with Iran."

SOURCE American Jewish Committee