UN Hopes for Deal with Iran This Week

The U.N. Security Council accelerates the discussion with Iran, trying to reach an agreement before their ministers' meeting next week. According to U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, "Ministers are getting together in Berlin on Thursday and I think for their purposes and for ours we are trying to reach agreement here."

Bolton hopes all the 15-members of the council will met on Wednesday, warning "I think we've got a certain momentum and we had it before and didn't necessarily promise that we would reach agreement."

Ambassadors from the United States, Britain, France Russia, China, the five veto-holding permanent council members, met on Tuesday to discuss Iran's intentions, which the latter says are peaceful, but which the West believes are aimed at making a nuclear bomb. The statement about Iran's nuclear program, drawn up by France and the UK, is in its third version and is currently studied by the UN Security Council.

The document demands Iran to stop uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, this version stressing the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which will be given more time to report back on Iran's compliance with demands. The 2 countries which made up the statement, supported by the U.S., hopes that this version will gain approval from China and Russia, which want the IAEA to take the lead.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw denied military actions against Iran, stating "As to the possibility of this leading to another Iraq, it won't. I have made clear often enough that I don't regard military action as appropriate or indeed conceivable. "As to the possibility of this leading to another Iraq, it won't. I have made clear often enough that I don't regard military action as appropriate or indeed conceivable."

After talks between the 5 council members, John Bolton stated that they have reached an agreement on the blueprint of the text.