Germany opposes rushing Iran sanctions

By Louis Charbonneau

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany does not want to rush into a third round of U.N. sanctions against Iran for defying Security Council demands that it freeze its nuclear enrichment program, diplomats said on Wednesday.

Germany and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- have been key players in efforts to ratchet up pressure on Tehran to halt its program and cooperate more with U.N. inspectors.

German officials have repeatedly warned that unless Iran heeds the demands of the United Nations and suspends its nuclear fuel program, which the West fears is aimed at producing atomic weapons, it would face further sanctions.

But one European diplomat said Germany wanted to delay any sanctions drive in order to give a chance to an August 21 deal between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meant to bring transparency to the Iranian nuclear program.

"They are reluctant to go for more sanctions without having given it a chance to work," the diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

"Germany would prefer to wait until at least the November IAEA report on Iran comes out to see if progress is being made on the (Iran-IAEA) action plan," he said.

He noted that Russia and China were strongly opposed to further sanctions against Iran, which says its nuclear program is intended solely for the peaceful generation of electricity.

The United States plans to host a meeting of key world powers on September 21 to discuss broadening sanctions against Iran.

A German government official and European Union diplomats in Brussels also said that Germany was leaning towards delaying preparation of a third sanctions resolution.

France and Britain are ready to press for a new sanctions proposal, but they too fear Moscow and Beijing, which wield Security Council vetoes, would block it, the EU diplomats said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed Iran with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday, diplomats said.

(Additional reporting by Paul Taylor in Brussels and Sue Pleming in Washington)