WASHINGTON, Aug 17, 2006 (AFP) – The United States will move quickly for UN Security Council action on sanctions against Iran if Tehran refuses to halt uranium enrichment by the end of the month, a senior State Deparment official said Thursday.
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s rejection this week of a UN resolution demanding that Iran suspend all uranium enrichment activity by August 31 was "not surprising."
He said the UN Security Council will take up sanctions under resolution 1696 if the deadline is not met.
"We would want to move very quickly," he told reporters, adding that the United States would press for a decision in the first part of September.
PARIS, Aug 17, 2006 (AFP) – Iran’s ambassador to Paris reaffirmed Thursday that international calls for his country to halt uranium enrichment were "not acceptable", after Tehran said it would be prepared to discuss a freeze. 
