U.N. sanctions Iran anew over nuclear program

BREAKING NEWS

updated 2:32 p.m. ET March 3, 2008

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council approved a third round of sanctions against Iran on Monday with near unanimous support, sending a strong signal to Tehran that its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment is unacceptable and becoming increasingly costly.

For the first time, the resolution bans trade with Iran in goods which have both civilian and military uses and authorizes inspections of shipments to and from Iran by sea and air that are suspected of carrying banned items.

The vote was 14-0; Indonesia abstained.

Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazee told the council before the vote that the government would not comply with the “unlawful action” against its “peaceful nuclear program.”

“Iran cannot and will not accept a requirement which is legally defective and politically coercive,” he said. “History tells us that no amount of pressure, intimidation and threat will be able to coerce our nation to give up its basic and legal rights.”

Iran insists its enrichment activities are intended only for peaceful civilian purposes, but the U.S., the European Union and others suspect its real aim is to make atomic weapons. Enriched uranium can be used as fuel for nuclear energy or nuclear weapons.

The resolution introduces financial monitoring on two banks with suspected links to proliferation activities, Bank Melli and Bank Saderat. It calls on all countries “to exercise vigilance” in entering into new trade commitments with Iran.

The resolution also orders countries to freeze the assets of 12 additional companies and 13 individuals with links to Iran’s nuclear or ballistic missile programs — and require countries to report the travels of those Iranians. It bans travel by five individuals linked to Iran’s nuclear effort.

General among those sanctioned
Most of the new individuals subject to sanctions are technical figures. But one, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, is prominent in the Revolutionary Guards, an elite military corps, and close to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The resolution says he has worked to get around previous U.N. sanctions.

Britain and France, who co-sponsored the resolution, delayed the vote until Monday in hopes of winning over four non-permanent council members who had raised a variety of concerns — Libya, Indonesia, South Africa and Vietnam.

One concern the countries raised is a recent International Atomic Energy Agency report saying suspicions about most past Iranian nuclear activities had eased or been laid to rest. The Libyan and Indonesian envoys had stressed that this indicated Iranian cooperation, and questioned the need for more sanctions.

The resolution adopted Monday does welcome Iran’s agreement with the IAEA, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, to resolve outstanding issues about its past nuclear program.

It also reiterates that incentives offered by Germany and the five permanent council nations — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — in 2006 remain on the table if Iran suspends enrichment.

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