US-Iran clash over agenda slows NPT review conference News
US-Iran clash over agenda slows NPT review conference

[JURIST] The ongoing tension between US and Iran over Iran's pursuit of nuclear technology is threatening to stall the 2005 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference [official website], where representatives of more than 180 nations have gathered to review the workings of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty [UN backgrounder]. Though the month-long conference opened Monday [JURIST report], a complete and final agenda for the conference has not yet been set. The US has pushed for the agenda to focus on "developments" relevant to treaty implementation, understood to mean Iran's recent efforts to pursue nuclear technology. Iran's foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi told conference delegates [statement transcript, PDF; archived video] that Iran is "determined to pursue all legal areas of nuclear technology, including enrichment, exclusively for peaceful purposes." Conference president Sergio de Queiroz Duarte has called for governments to show "genuine cooperation, wisdom and enlightened statesmanship," and an official close to the agenda negotiations said late Tuesday that an agreement has almost been reached. AP has more.