WASHINGTON - The international community must be prepared to act against states that violate a key U.N. nuclear weapons treaty if it is to stop nuclear arms proliferation, U.S. officials said.
A high-level U.S. delegation intends to deliver a tough message on compliance obligations, aimed at Iran and other problem countries it accuses of pursuing nuclear weapons, at a U.N. conference this week to discuss the non-proliferation treaty.
Members states are also expected to discuss U.S. President George W. Bush's controversial non-proliferation initiative.
The meeting at U.N. headquarters in New York is to prepare for a major review conference next year to examine progress under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, a 34-year-old cornerstone pact that aims to halt the spread of nuclear arms.
Undersecretary of State John Bolton, the senior U.S. delegate, is due to address the conference yesterday. His team also includes three assistant secretaries of state, a delegation officials said was unusually high-powered for this kind of mid-term review conference.
The NPT, signed by 189 nations, is under severe strain, particularly following recent revelations by Abdul Qadeer Khan, father of Pakistan's nuclear program, of a vast nuclear black market.
Iran and North Korea, which pledged not to develop nuclear weapons when they signed the pact, have used the treaty as a cover to pursue nuclear capabilities, according to U.S. and other officials, and Pyongyang has withdrawn from its treaty obligations.
PUSHING HARD ON COMPLIANCE
Under pressure from the U.N. watchdog - the International Atomic Energy Agency - Iran has permitted more intensive IAEA inspections of its nuclear facilities.
But U.S. officials insist Tehran is still deceiving the world and is determined to produce nuclear weapons. Iran denies this and says its nuclear program is only for peaceful uses.
Washington's repeated attempts to persuade the IAEA board of governors to find Iran in noncompliance of its NPT obligations, and send the issue to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions, so far has failed.
The IAEA in March deplored Iran's failure to disclose information on sensitive technology like the advanced P2 centrifuges capable of making bomb-grade uranium but stopped short of reporting Tehran to the Security Council.
The board meets again in June and some European officials have said the session could be decisive.
A U.S. official said "the United States will be pushing hard at the NPT preparatory conference on compliance."
"One of our points is that verification (of nuclear activities) doesn't do much good if you're not then prepared to follow it up with actions necessary to respond to noncompliance," he said.
One response would be to formally refer a noncompliance case to the U.N. Security Council, as called for by the NPT. Beyond that, "you want to be able to deny people benefits from their noncompliance," the official added.
Under the NPT only five states are allowed to have nuclear weapons - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - although India, Pakistan and Israel are understood to also have this capability.
All other states promised not to develop nuclear weapons.
Last September, Bush urged the Security Council to criminalize the transfer of weapons of mass destruction. The proposal generated opposition from Pakistan and other countries but U.S. officials hope to allay some concerns during the New York sessions.
Story by Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
