Iran's Parliament Adopts Tough Nuclear Bill

Iranian lawmakers during the discussion of the nuclear bill on 20 November (Fars) Prague, 22 November 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Iran's parliament gave its final approval today to a bill that obliges the country's government to stop allowing snap UN inspections of atomic sites and to resume uranium enrichment if Tehran's case is sent to the UN Security Council.

The bill would oblige the Iranian government to "stop voluntary and non-legally-binding measures and implement its scientific, research and executive programs" if Iran's nuclear case is referred to the UN Security Council. It must be approved by the country's Guardians Council before becoming law.

The signing of the Additional Protocol of the nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the suspension of uranium-enrichment activities are among the main voluntary measures taken by Iran for confidence building.

The move by the Iranian parliament comes ahead of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board meeting later this week during which the possible referral of Tehran’s nuclear case to the Security Council will be discussed.

(AFP)