MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) - The European Union intends to convene an emergency session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) early next week to put pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program, a European diplomat close to the negotiations said Friday. The session will be convened for the sole purpose of issuing a warning to Tehran and may be held on August 9, the source said.
Tehran announced early this week it was ready to resume uranium enrichment at the Isfahan nuclear facility and officially notified the IAEA of its intentions.
The EU said this move would mean Iran was withdrawing from its unilateral moratorium on uranium enrichment. The "EU troika" (Britain, France, and Germany) threatened to end negotiations with Iran and convene a special IAEA session to discuss referring Iran's "nuclear file" to the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions on the country if it finds any wrongdoing.
Iranian authorities say the resumption of work at the Isfahan plant does not mean the end of the moratorium because they say the facility does not enrich uranium.
Since August 1, Iranian officials have reiterated their intention to resume work at the Isfahan nuclear facility within the next few hours or days. However, work has been put off under different pretexts. In particular, Iran said IAEA specialists have asked for time to prepare for the removal of seals from the equipment. These preparations have been continuing for four days.
The "EU troika" promised to submit a draft of proposals to resolve the issue of Iran's nuclear program.
Experts say Iran will wait for the EU's package of proposals to decide what to do next.
