DYB2011-Part-II-web

Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation
Though the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council
reportedly “accepted” the invitation from the EU High Representative
in a letter dated 10 May, a spokesperson in the Office of the EU High
Representative stated that the response “[did] not contain anything new and
does not justify a further meeting”. In the meantime, the Islamic Republic
of Iran had continued to announce new developments with respect to its
nuclear programme. In April, the Chief of the Atomic Energy Organization
of the Islamic Republic of Iran reportedly stated that his country would build
four to five new research reactors, fuelled with uranium enriched to 20 per
cent U-235, in different provinces within the next few years “to produce
radio-medicine and perform research”. Furthermore, a spokesperson for the
Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran stated that
his country would have produced sufficient 20 per cent U-235 by March 2012
to refuel the Tehran Research Reactor.
On 9 June, the Security Council adopted resolution 1984 (2011), in
which it decided to extend the mandate of the Panel of Experts established
pursuant to resolution 1929 (2010) for one year. The Council requested that
the Panel provide a midterm report to the 1737 Committee by 11 November
and to the Council by 9 December, following discussions by the Committee. In
resolution 1984 (2011), the Security Council determined that “the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction, as well as their means of delivery, continues
to constitute a threat to international peace and security”.
During the second half of the year, diplomatic efforts to address
the nuclear issues proceeded along two separate tracks, as the EU High
Representative and the Russian Federation sought the modalities to resume
negotiations. At the same time, the IAEA sought increased cooperation from
the Islamic Republic of Iran on resolving outstanding issues as it expressed
“increasing concern” and released more detailed accounts of information it
had received from Member States over a period of years.
On 13 July, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, described
a proposed “step-by-step” approach29 to resolve the nuclear issue, during a
press conference with the United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
According to the Russian Foreign Minister, the proposal would entail a
“phased and mutual process”, which would include “some kind of a roadmap,
starting from the easiest questions and in the end there will be the most
difficult ones that would require time. … [E]ach specific step of Iran would be
followed by some reciprocal step, like freezing some sanctions and shortening
the volume of sanctions”. 30 He further reported that the proposal had already
29 See United States Department of State, “Remarks With Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Sergey Lavrov After their Meeting”, 13 July 2011. Available from http://www.state.gov/
secretary/rm/2011/07/168478.htm (accessed 21 May 2012).
30 Ibid.
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