[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 7 (Friday, January 27, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S253-S254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CONDEMNING THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. Con. Res. 78 which was submitted 
earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the concurrent 
resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 78) condemning the 
     Government of Iran for violating international nuclear 
     nonproliferation obligations and expressing support for 
     efforts to report Iran to the United Nations Security 
     Council.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid 
upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 78) was agreed to, as 
follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 78

       Whereas Iran is a non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the 
     Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at 
     Washington, London, and Moscow July 1, 1968 (commonly 
     referred to as the ``Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty''), 
     under which Iran is obligated, pursuant to Article II of the 
     Treaty, ``not to receive the transfer from any transferor 
     whatsoever of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive 
     devices or of control over such weapons or explosive devices 
     directly, or indirectly; not to manufacture or otherwise 
     acquire nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices; 
     and not to seek or receive any assistance in the manufacture 
     of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices'';
       Whereas Iran signed the Agreement Between Iran and the 
     International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of 
     Safeguards in Connection with the Treaty on the Non-
     Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at Vienna June 19, 
     1973 (commonly referred to as the ``Safeguards Agreement''), 
     which requires Iran to report the importation and use of 
     nuclear material, to declare nuclear facilities, and to 
     accept safeguards on nuclear materials and activities to 
     ensure that such materials and activities are not diverted to 
     any military purpose and are used for peaceful purposes and 
     activities;
       Whereas Iran signed the Protocol Additional to the 
     Agreement Between Iran and the International Atomic Energy 
     Agency for the Application of Safeguards in Connection with 
     the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons at 
     Vienna on December 18, 2003 (commonly referred to as the 
     ``Additional Protocol'');
       Whereas the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 
     reported in November 2003 that Iran had been developing an 
     undeclared nuclear enrichment program for 18 years and had 
     covertly imported nuclear material and equipment, carried out 
     over 110 unreported experiments to produce uranium metal, 
     separated plutonium, and concealed many other aspects of its 
     nuclear facilities and activities;
       Whereas the Government of Iran informed the Director 
     General of the IAEA on November 10, 2003, of its decision to 
     suspend enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, and 
     stated that the suspension would cover all activities at the 
     Natanz enrichment facility, the production of all feed 
     material for enrichment, and the importation of any 
     enrichment-related items;
       Whereas, in a Note Verbale dated December 29, 2003, the 
     Government of Iran specified the scope of suspension of its 
     enrichment and reprocessing activities, which the IAEA was 
     invited to verify, including the suspension of the operation 
     or testing or any centrifuges, either with or without nuclear 
     material, at the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz, the 
     suspension of further introduction of nuclear material into 
     any centrifuges, the suspension of the installation of new 
     centrifuges at the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant and the 
     installation of centrifuges at the Fuel Enrichment Plant at 
     Natanz, and, to the extent practicable, the withdrawal of 
     nuclear material from any centrifuge enrichment facility;
       Whereas, on February 24, 2004, the Government of Iran 
     informed the IAEA of its decision to expand the scope and 
     clarify the nature of its decision to suspend to the furthest 
     extent possible the assembly and testing of centrifuges and 
     the domestic manufacture of centrifuge components, including 
     those related to existing contracts, informed the IAEA that 
     any components that are manufactured under existing contracts 
     that cannot be suspended will be stored and placed under IAEA 
     seal, invited the IAEA to verify these measures, and 
     confirmed that the suspension of enrichment activities 
     applied to all facilities in Iran;
       Whereas, in November 2004, the Governments of the United 
     Kingdom, France, and Germany entered into an agreement with 
     Iran on Iran's nuclear program (commonly referred to as the 
     ``Paris Agreement''), securing a formal commitment from the 
     Government of Iran to voluntarily suspend uranium enrichment 
     operations in exchange for discussions on economic, 
     technological, political, and security issues;
       Whereas the Department of State has reported for a decade 
     on Iran's state sponsorship of terrorism and has declared in 
     its most recent Country Reports on Terrorism that Iran 
     ``remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 
     2004'';
       Whereas President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed, in 
     an October 26, 2005, speech, his hope for ``a world without 
     America'' and his desire ``to wipe Israel off the map'' and 
     has subsequently denied the existence of the holocaust;
       Whereas Article XII.C of the Statute of the IAEA requires 
     the IAEA Board of Governors to report the noncompliance of 
     any member of the IAEA with its IAEA safeguards obligations 
     to all members and to the Security Council and General 
     Assembly of the United Nations;
       Whereas Article III.B-4 of the Statute of the IAEA 
     specifies that ``if in connection with the activities of the 
     Agency there should arise questions that are within the 
     competence of the Security Council, the Agency shall notify 
     the Security Council, as the organ bearing the main 
     responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and 
     security'';
       Whereas, on September 24, 2005, the IAEA Board of Governors 
     adopted a resolution finding that Iran's many failures and 
     breaches of its obligations to comply with the Safeguards 
     Agreement constitute noncompliance in the context of Article 
     XII.C of the Statute of the IAEA and that matters concerning 
     Iran's nuclear program have given rise to questions that are 
     within the competence of the Security Council as the organ 
     bearing the primary responsibility for the maintenance of 
     international peace and security;
       Whereas, on January 3, 2006, the Government of Iran 
     announced that it planned to restart its nuclear research 
     efforts, nullifying the Paris Agreement;
       Whereas, in January 2006, Iranian officials, in the 
     presence of IAEA inspectors, began to remove IAEA seals from 
     the enrichment facility in Natanz, Iran;

[[Page S254]]

       Whereas Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom Jack Straw 
     warned Iranian officials that they were ``pushing their 
     luck'' by removing the United Nations seals that were placed 
     on the Natanz facility by the IAEA 2 years earlier;
       Whereas President of France Jacques Chirac said that the 
     Governments of Iran and North Korea risk making a ``serious 
     error'' by pursuing nuclear activities in defiance of 
     international agreements;
       Whereas Foreign Minister of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier 
     said that the Government of Iran had ``crossed lines which it 
     knew would not remain without consequences'';
       Whereas Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated, ``It is 
     obvious that if Iran cannot be brought to live up to its 
     international obligations, in fact, the IAEA Statute would 
     indicate that Iran would have to be referred to the U.N. 
     Security Council.'';
       Whereas President Ahmadinejad stated, ``The Iranian 
     government and nation has no fear of the Western ballyhoo and 
     will continue its nuclear programs with decisiveness and 
     wisdom.''; and
       Whereas the United States has joined with the Governments 
     of Britain, France, and Germany in calling for a meeting of 
     the IAEA Board of Governors to discuss Iran's non-compliance 
     with its IAEA safeguards obligations: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) condemns the many failures of the Government of Iran to 
     comply faithfully with its nuclear nonproliferation 
     obligations, including its obligations under the Safeguards 
     Agreement (as reported by the Director General of the IAEA to 
     the IAEA Board of Governors since 2003), its suspension 
     commitments under the Paris Agreement, and prior commitments 
     to the EU-3 to suspend all enrichment- and reprocessing-
     related activities;
       (2) commends the efforts of the Governments of France, 
     Germany, and the United Kingdom to seek a meaningful and 
     credible suspension of Iran's enrichment- and reprocessing-
     related activities and to find a diplomatic means to address 
     the noncompliance of the Government of Iran with its 
     obligations, requirements, and commitments related to nuclear 
     non-proliferation;
       (3) strongly urges the IAEA Board of Governors, at its 
     special meeting on February 2, 2006, to order that Iran's 
     noncompliance with its safeguards obligations be reported to 
     the United Nations Security Council; and
       (4) calls on all members of the United Nations Security 
     Council, in particular the Russian Federation and the 
     People's Republic of China, to act expeditiously to consider 
     any report of Iran's noncompliance in fulfillment of the 
     mandate of the Security Council to respond to and deal with 
     situations bearing on the maintenance of international peace 
     and security.

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