UN: Iran sanctions resolution due for a vote Saturday

Major powers at the U.N. to vote on a resolution that would impose heavy sanctions on Iran. Major powers negotiating U.N. sanctions against Iran intend to put their draft resolution to a vote on Saturday after rejecting nearly all amendments proposed by South Africa. "Earlier now in the council, 3 co-sponsors, France Germany and the United Kingdom tabled a revised text that incorporated the seven or eight amendments. Those amendments we believe reflect, catch the mood of what the members of the council wanted. We weren't able to take all the amendments. That's because some amendments were so destructive to the sense of the previous resolutions for they really went against what was set out as legal obligations on Iran and to respond to non-compliance by lifting the obligations, I think members of the council consider that to be a totally inappropriate response. We've tabled the text, we've had a discussion now in the council, we put it in blue tonight. We've expressed an intention and a wish that this resolution should be voted before the weekend," said British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry. He also added that the resolution was a suitable response to the Iran nuclear issue. "The text that we have submitted is one which we believe finds the centre of gravity of the debate. It's an appropriate, proportional, incremental response to the situation and it is one where we have sought to take account of the views of the council. The only views that we have not taken account of are those which are so contrary to everything that this council has done previously that we were totally unable to take them into account," Jones Parry said. The U.N. Security Council draft resolution again demands Iran halt uranium enrichment that can be used to build a bomb or for peaceful purposes. The United States and leading European nations suspect Iran may be developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian program, which Tehran denies. Among other changes rejected were requests by Indonesia and Qatar to include language encouraging a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, which the United States turned down. But other diplomats said pressure was being put on Washington to accept this provision to get the support of Qatar and Indonesia. U.S. deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff said amendments had to be consistent with the philosophy of the resolution drafted by Germany and the five permanent council members with veto rights -- Russia, China, Britain, France and the United States. He reiterated that the primary aim of the new resolution was to make Iran comply with its obligations to the international community. According to him, certain amendments, like the encouragement of a nuclear-free zone were rejected because they diverted from the focus of this resolution. "Well, as I said, there was only one delegation that introduced one amendment and that amendment was an amendment related to nuclear weapons free zone in the middle east and we don't think that it is consistent and diverts from the focus of this resolution which again is to bring into Iran back into compliance with its obligations," said Wolff. Some minor changes were made in the text, obtained by Reuters. The new text also includes definitions of why a list of 28 Iranian individuals, companies and institutions should be subject to an assets freeze abroad for their association with Tehran's nuclear or missile programs. South African Ambassador to the UN, Dumisani S. Kumalo told the press that he felt that the changes made were cosmetic and that not enough effort was made to incorporate some of the amendments they had offered. "The thing though is that they told us we would be negotiating, give and take. Well, it didn't turn out to be like that," Kumalo said. South Africa had proposed stripping the text of its key provisions, including a partial arms embargo on conventional arms and financial restrictions on Iranian officials and institutions. Pretoria also proposed a 90-day "time out" in imposing the sanctions which Jones Parry said would have rewarded "non-compliance by actually lifting the obligation and that would have been totally perverse." South Africa's main objection is that the new text would impose penalties outside of the nuclear sphere. The big powers want a unanimous vote so the resolution would carry more weight, but they may not get it. The draft would ban exports of all weapons and freeze assets abroad of 28 more people and institutions, including commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and companies they control and the state-owned Bank Sepah. It also calls for restrictions on new financial assistance or loans to the Iranian government. The new text is a follow-up to one adopted in December banning trade in sensitive nuclear materials and ballistic missiles as well as a freezing of assets of individuals and institutions associated with atomic programs.

ITN Source | March 23, 2007

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