Iran faces new sanctions over nuclear expansion

Iran faces further international sanctions after the UN nuclear agency reported that Tehran had expanded sensitive nuclear activities - in defiance of UN demands that it halt work related to the possible production of an atomic bomb.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, confirmed in a report to the UN Security Council that Iran had failed to observe a 21 February deadline for the suspension of uranium enrichment. The process can be used to produce fuel for nuclear reactors or for a bomb, depending on the level of enrichment.

"Iran has not suspended its enrichment-related activities," the six-page report said, adding that Iran was attempting to escalate research-level enrichment of nuclear fuel into "industrial-scale" production.

It also said that agency experts remained "unable... to make further progress in efforts to verify fully the past development of Iran's nuclear programme" due to lack of Iranian co-operation. That, too, put it in violation of the Security Council, which had ordered Tehran to "provide such access and co-operation as the agency requests to be able to verify... all outstanding issues" within 60 days.

The issue now returns to the Security Council, which warned in a resolution adopted on 23 December that it would consider "further measures" if Iran failed to comply.

Resolution 1737 imposed limited economic and technological sanctions against Tehran, although the US is pressing individual countries to take extra measures.

British diplomats said the Security Council would consider ratcheting up the pressure on Iran in "very small increments", although it is seen as unlikely that the council would take action before the end of March. But some UN diplomats are not hopeful that Iran can be persuaded to give up its nuclear programme. One said that there was "a 60 per cent chance" of military strikes on Iran.

Although the US has in recent days toned down its warlike rhetoric, a military build-up continues in the Gulf region, and leaked reports suggest that targets inside Iran have already been chosen by military contingency planners.

Tony Blair said yesterday: "There is, as far as I know, no planning going on to make an attack on Iran and people are pursuing a diplomatic and political solution... because it's the only solution that anyone can think of that is viable and sensible."

The Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, warned that Britain would seek the adoption of further measures "which will lead to the further isolation of Iran".

"We will now be consulting closely with our European, Chinese, Russian and US partners and other Security Council members on next steps. We remain determined to prevent Iran acquiring the means to develop nuclear weapons."

Under the terms of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran can carry out uranium enrichment as long as the goal is peaceful, and under the supervision of the IAEA. Iran says that is the case, but the bottom line is that by refusing to suspend uranium enrichment in line with UN resolution 1737, Iran has violated international law, exposing itself to further sanctions.

Asked about Iran's real nuclear intentions, one leading Western nuclear expert said: "Politically, Iran's intentions are irrelevant in this climate. They will never be able to prove the negative, and in any case they could change their mind at a later stage. Once they have an industrial level of enrichment, they are two years from a bomb."

Mr ElBaradei said earlier this week that Iran was only six months away from industrial-scale enrichment.

The Russian ambassador to London, Yuri Fedotov, told journalists last week that "at the moment we have to accept the official position that they have no intention of developing a weapon". He added that Russia - which is a veto-holding member of the UN Security Council - "does not exclude the possibility of further discussion" in the council.