VIENNA, August 9 (RIA Novosti, Borislav Pechnikov) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is unlikely to refer the Iranian nuclear case to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions, an IAEA source said Tuesday in Vienna before a special session of the UN nuclear watchdog.
The IAEA Board of Governors will most likely urge Tehran to end uranium enrichment, which could lead to the creation of a nuclear bomb and a breach of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, the source said.
The European Union, the United States, and its IAEA allies (Canada and Australia) are expected to make a moderate decision, the source said.
But the IAEA cited Iranian defense minister Ali Shamkhani as saying Iran would not yield to international pressure, even if the UN imposed sanctions. He added that certain sanctions (from the U.S.) were already in effect today.
The IAEA is unlikely to send the Iranian nuclear file to the UN Security Council, the Iranian minister said.
Contrary to EU warnings, Iran removed seals from the equipment at its Isfahan nuclear facility in the presence of IAEA experts yesterday, officially ending its unilateral moratorium on uranium enrichment. Tehran said the package of proposals on the Iranian nuclear file submitted by the "EU troika" (Great Britain, France, and Germany) ignored Iran's sovereign right to enrich uranium and create a full nuclear cycle.
