Coalition proposed to push Iran

WASHINGTON – With hopes dimming for tough U.N. action against Iran’s nuclear program, U.S. officials and allies are talking about forming a smaller “coalition of the willing” to bring pressure on Tehran.

The coalition, which could include Britain and France, would exert economic and diplomatic – although not military – leverage against Iran’s rulers to comply with international demands to halt uranium enrichment activities and cooperate with international inspectors.

The Bush administration and its allies in Europe and elsewhere remain publicly committed to working through international channels, including the U.N. Security Council and the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency. But some of the officials acknowledge they also have been quietly exploring an alternative to U.N. sanctions or military action if current Security Council efforts break down.

U.S. officials consider a military solution impractical, although President Bush has not ruled it out.

U.S. and European diplomats say they are still a long way from collaborating outside the U.N. framework, and some questioned its chances for success.

“None of the options on Iran are good,” said one senior U.S. official, who, like others who spoke on the issue, requested anonymity because the proposal is still under discussion. “You play the cards you have.”

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton tacitly acknowledged Thursday that an alternative approach was under consideration. “It would be, I think, simply prudent to be looking at other options,” he told reporters in Washington.

While economic sanctions against Iran would pose little inconvenience to the United States, which has cut off most dealings with Tehran, they would be costly to many other countries that depend on Iran for oil.

Moreover, joining with the United States is likely to raise negative associations with the unpopular U.S.-led war in Iraq. The U.S.-led coalition there has dwindled from 38 countries to 26 members, with Italy and possibly several other members considering a pull-out this year.

Yet allies also worry that Iran, despite its avowal that its program is for energy generation, is close to gaining crucial bomb-making know-how. They view a coalition approach as a means to forestall military action by the United States or Israel against the conservative Muslim clerics in power in Tehran.

Earlier this year, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported its concerns about Iran’s nuclear program to the U.N. Security Council, and U.S. officials hoped for swift and stringent action, including the threat of international sanctions.

But three weeks of difficult negotiations last month produced only a mild “presidential statement” calling on Iranians to follow U.N. rules on nuclear activities. Russian and Chinese officials made clear they opposed further steps toward sanctions.

Bolton, speaking to reporters Thursday morning, said the “obvious difficulty” of reaching accord in the Security Council “says something about the difficulty of the road ahead.”