NEW YORK, March 30 (RIA Novosti) - The UN Security Council has urged Iran to re-impose a moratorium on uranium enrichment and allow international inspections of its nuclear facilities in a bid to resolve the crisis around its controversial nuclear programs.
A resolution adopted Wednesday night says the moratorium would encourage a diplomatic resolution of the problem and be a guarantee of the peaceful nature of the nuclear programs pursued by Iran, which some countries have said wants to build nuclear weapons despite constant denials.
The 15-member Security Council also said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog, should report on Tehran's compliance or failure to comply with its international nuclear non-proliferation commitments within 30 days.
The resolution was adopted following three weeks of intensive discussions between the five permanent Security Council members - the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and China - after the IAEA issued a report Iran to the council, which has the power to impose economic sanctions and other punitive measures.
The March 8 report did not contain evidence that Tehran was pursuing a military nuclear program, but said it was not fully cooperating with international inspectors.
The March 29 resolution is a milder version of what was proposed by the U.S. and its allies, which said Iran's nuclear program posed a threat to peace and stability in the world and only gave IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei two weeks to provide more information on the matter.
Russia's ambassador to the UN, Andrei Denisov, said decision-making had been difficult and added that the Security Council had thereby confirmed the IAEA's "central role" in efforts to defuse the situation.
"The important thing is that five permanent Security Council members demonstrated a common approach," Denisov said.
Originally, the Security Council was to meet March 21 to adopt a statement on Iran's nuclear file, but the meeting was delayed over a split between the veto-wielding Security Council members on the issue.
China, a major consumer of Iranian oil, and Russia, which is helping Iran build an $800-million nuclear power plant, were opposed to a toughly worded draft statement proposed by the United States, France, and Britain.
The foreign ministers of the five permanent UN Security Council members will meet later today in Berlin to discuss future efforts to resolve the crisis.
Tehran has repeatedly denied Western accusations that it plans to build nuclear weapons and insisted on its right to develop civilian nuclear technology stipulated in the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.
