Although Iran did get a broad endorsement of its right to peaceful uses of nuclear power, the officials said the 120-nation Nonaligned Movement rebuffed its attempt for total backing of its position at a high-level conference it hosted in Tehran on Wednesday, ahead of a weekend deadline for Iran to respond to an offer of incentives to halt suspect activities.
A final statement adopted by foreign ministers did not include several key Iranian-proposed passages that called for the lifting of sanctions and rejected the authority of the U.N. Security Council in dealing with the nuclear matter, the officials said.
The United States is not a member of the nonaligned group but learned of the negotiations over the statement by representatives of countries that are members, said officials who spoke to reporters at the State Department on condition of anonymity to discuss their confidential briefings.
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One U.S. official said the conference, which operates on a consensus basis, had deadlocked on portions of a draft statement presented by Iran that demanded the removal of sanctions and dismissed U.N. authority as well as affirmed Iran's right to possess the entire nuclear fuel cycle, something world powers object to.
The official said that some members, notably Cuba, Belarus and Venezuela
- who all have poor relations with the United States - spoke in favor of the Iranian draft, but other opposing countries prevailed in watering down the statement.
Copies of the draft and the final statement provided by the U.S. officials show the Iranians unsuccessfully tried to get approval for a paragraph that said "sanctions imposed on Iran for its nuclear program are of a political nature and should be promptly removed."
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That paragraph, which also said there is "no legal basis" for the U.N. Security Council to be involved in the issue, does not appear in the final statement.
The United States, Israel and others claim the program is a cover for atomic weapons development. Iran rejects the charges and maintains the program is intended only for civilian energy production.