UN: U.N. Security Council members give their reaction to the defiant Iranian response to the newly adopted Iran resolution

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday (March 24) to impose new sanctions on Iran for its nuclear ambitions, by targeting Tehran's arms exports, state-owned bank and elite Revolutionary Guards. Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki immediately rejected the council's demand to suspend uranium enrichment, emphasizing that Iran's nuclear program was for peaceful purposes. After leaving the U.N. Security Council chamber, key members spoke to reporters about Motakki's response and explained their rationale for drafting a tough resolution. Asked about Motakki's speech, acting U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Alejandro Wolff said that he saw it "as another exercise in denial." "I'm not going to dignify the speech, it's a revisionist speech that misses the point. We are here to deal with Iran's refusal to abide by both international obligations established by the Security Council and by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). We have heard allegations, we were treated to a version of history that few people share and I frankly saw it as another exercise in denial," said Wolff. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had wanted to speak to the 15-nation council but cancelled his appearance because visas for his flight crew were delivered too late for his plane to arrive in New York before the vote. Washington disputes this. But both Iran and the big powers, who drafted the resolution, offered further talks, although the sanctions would remain in place until Iran halted enrichment. "We want to get into negotiations, we want to find a better way forward. The choice is Iran's but the offer on table includes undeniably the development of a civil nuclear capability in Iran. No one is seeking to deny Iran of its right. What we are seeking to do is eliminate the possibility of Iran having nuclear weapons," said Emyr Jones Parry, the UK ambassador to the U.N. While French ambassador to the U.N.. Jean Marc de la Sabliere said that he hoped that Iran would make the "good choice" of suspending its enrichment and reprocessing activities, thereby giving the Security Council a platform to suspend its measures and resume negotiations. In the same vein as Sabliere, Russian ambassador to the U.N. too said that he hoped that Iran would understand that it was not worth pursuing the path of continued defiance of international concerns. "We have no doubt that Iran can overcome all sorts of hardships, it's a courageous people with a very strong and important history but the question is - is it worth it? Because the international community is offering a different prospect for Iran. And this is the prospect of productive negotiations, of developing peaceful energy, of having a legally assured supply of nuclear fuel and the development of relations in a variety of various fields and avoiding this kind of a political confrontation which we hope is not going to accumulate," said Churkin. The resolution bans arms exports from Iran and freezes financial assets abroad of 28 Iranian individuals and entities, including its Bank Sepah, and the commanders and companies associated with the Revolutionary Guards. It threatens further sanctions if Iran does not comply within 60 days. If it does, sanctions would be suspended. The new measures adopted on Saturday are a follow-up to an earlier Dec. 23 resolution banning trade in sensitive nuclear materials and ballistic missiles, as well as freezing assets of individuals and institutions associated with atomic programs. Saturday's Resolution 1747 sanctions go beyond the nuclear sphere. They may affect Iran's economy but do not touch on its oil industry. Iran is the world's fourth largest oil producer.

ITN Source | March 25, 2007

Tags:. .marc. .purposes. .prospect. .confrontation. .drafting