UN: UN Council set Iran sanctions vote for Saturday

Major powers at the U.N. hope to unanimously pass a resolution that will impose heavy sanctions on Iran for not suspending uranium enrichment activities. U.N. Security Council members reached broad agreement on Friday (March 23) on a resolution imposing new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program but Iran's president cancelled plans to address the council. The vote is scheduled at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Saturday (March 24) barring any last minute changes when the latest text is sent to governments of the 15 council members for final approval. "We've made three minor changes to the text this evening and we hope that those changes carry when capitals naturally discuss them. But tomorrow we are confident that we will have brought the council to what we have wanted which is the appropriate response to Iran to its non compliance, but at the same time making clear to Iran that the offer of negotiations is open," Britain's U.N. ambassador, Emyr Jones Parry, told reporters on Friday. The three changes include amendments to the preamble to the resolution which now says the solution to the Iranian nuclear issue would contribute to global non-proliferation efforts and "realize the objectives of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, including their means of delivery." French Ambassador to the U.N. Jean Marc De La Sabliere said that Iran has time to meet its obligations to the international community before they are subjected to more sanctions. "If Iran doesn't suspend, then there will be 60 days from now another resolution. But we hope that Iran will reflect on this resolution and make the good choice," he said. The current resolution 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. U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff, the deputy American representative, said, "Well we would have hoped that we would not have to find ourselves in this situation that the logic of Iran's own obligations and commitments would not have required us to find ourselves in this situation. The reason we are doing this resolution is because Iran continues to refuse to comply. So as you know, this resolution reiterates the same provisions as we had in 1737, suspension for suspension. As soon as Iran suspends its enrichment activities in a verifiable manner, the council will suspend its actions and we will be able to address this issue politically again." South Africa, which submitted amendments that gutted all the sanctions drawn up by the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany, is expected to vote in favour. "We made amendments. They didn't take all of our amendments. They took a lot of amendments. Some of them more important to us like the role of the IAEA in this process which is very very important to us. And the protection of course of the right of peaceful use which is important to us," said Pretoria's U.N. ambassador, Dumisani Kumalo. A minimum of nine votes in favour and no veto is needed to pass a resolution and the measure has such backing. But it would carry more weight with a unanimous vote, which Wolff and British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry were fairly certain would be the case. The new text is a follow-up to one adopted in December banning trade in sensitive nuclear materials and ballistic missiles as well as freezing assets of individuals and institutions associated with atomic programs. To mollify South Africa, negotiators provided an explanation in the text of why each name on a list of Iranian individuals, companies and institutions should be subject to an assets freeze. They also added pages to the resolution on their willingness to negotiate and give Iran an economic incentive package if it complied. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called off his visit to New York to address the Council on Saturday because of the lateness in getting U.S. visas for his entourage, issued in Berne, Switzerland, Tehran's U.N. Ambassador Javad Zarif said. But U.S. officials said there would have been time for him to get to New York. Instead Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, who had received his visa early on Friday, is taking a commercial flight to address the Council on Saturday. Iran refuses to suspend work on enriching uranium, a process that can be used to make nuclear bombs, or be used for peaceful uses. Western nations suspect Iran is developing weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program.

ITN Source | March 24, 2007

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