by Gerard Aziakou Gerard Aziakou 44 mins ago
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – World powers Wednesday slapped a fourth set of UN sanctions on Iran aiming to curb its suspect nuclear program by hitting the Islamic republic with new military and financial punitive measures.
The US-drafted resolution was adopted by 12 votes in favor in the 15-member Security Council, with Lebanon abstaining and Brazil and Turkey voting against.
Though swiftly hailed by the United States and its European allies who co-sponsored the resolution, the move drew an immediate, scournful reaction from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
“These resolutions are not worth a dime for the Iranian nation,” Ahmadinejad told ISNA news agency in Tajikistan.
“I gave one of them (world powers) a message that the resolutions you issue are like a used hanky which should be thrown in the dust bin. They are not capable of hurting Iranians.”
US President Barack Obama however said Iran now faced the “toughest-ever” sanctions regime, which sent “an unmistakable message about the international community’s commitment to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.”
But the US leader, who has offered to resume dialogue with Tehran, stressed: “These sanctions do not close the door on diplomacy. Iran continues to have the opportunity to take a different and better path.”
The resolution, co-sponsored by Britain and France with the backing of Russia and China, expands an arms embargo and bars the country from sensitive activities like uranium mining.
It authorizes states to conduct high-sea inspections of vessels believed to be ferrying banned items for Iran and adds 40 entities to a list of people and groups subject to travel restrictions and financial sanctions.
Tehran maintains its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful civilian purposes, while the Western nations have charged that Iran is covertly seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice hailed Wednesday’s vote, saying: “The council has risen to its responsibilities. Now Iran should choose a wiser course.”
Israel, Iran’s arch-foe, also hailed the new sanctions, but said more needed to be done, to stop Tehran acquiring nuclear weapons.
The foreign ministers of Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany stressed the door remained open for talks.
“The aim of our efforts is to achieve a comprehensive and long-term settlement which would restore international confidence in the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, while respecting Iran’s legitimate rights to the peaceful use of atomic energy,” they said in a statement.
China, which voted in favor but is keen to protect its substantial energy and economic interests in Iran, said the resolution aims to coax Iran back to the negotiating table and persuade it to fulfill its obligations as a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“Sanctions can never fundamentally resolve” the standoff, Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong said, stressing the measures could be suspended or even lifted if Tehran suspends uranium enrichment and reprocessing.
Russia, which also came on board only after some initial reluctance, said a package of economic and energy incentives offered by six major powers to Iran, in exchange for halting uranium enrichment, remained on the table.
The sanctions “should not do undue damage” to the Iranian economy and the Iranian people, stressed Russian envoy to the UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin.
The resolution was approved despite sustained efforts by Brazil and Turkey to head off the measures and promote a nuclear fuel swap deal they reached with Tehran last month.
Under the plan, Iran agreed to ship 1,200 kilograms (2,640 pounds) of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in return for high-enriched uranium fuel for a Tehran research reactor that would be supplied later by Russia and France.
But the deal met with a cool reception from the six powers trying to clip Iran’s nuclear ambitions — Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany.
Wednesday’s vote was delayed for more than an hour as the ambassadors of Brazil, Turkey and Lebanon awaited instructions from their governments, before deciding to attend.
“We do not see sanctions as an effective instrument in this case,” Brazil’s Ambassador Maria Luiza Viotti said as the meeting opened.
Four rounds of UN sanctions have now been imposed on Iran since December 2006. The third round was adopted on March 3, 2008.
Among those subject to the new travel restrictions are Javad Rahiqi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran’s Isfahan nuclear technology center.
