Iran Faces New Sanctions, Vows to Limit Nuclear Cooperation

Iran has vowed to reduce its cooperation with international nuclear inspectors after the U.N. Security on Saturday unanimously approved a new batch of economic sanctions against Tehran, the New York Times reported (see GSN, March 23).

“After this illegal resolution was passed against Iran last night, it forced the government to act based on parliament’s decision regarding the cooperation level with the agency and suspend parts of its activities with the [International Atomic Energy] Agency, said government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham (see GSN, Jan. 3).

Iranian leaders have decided not to provide the agency with information about uranium enrichment facilities as early as they have in the past, according to the Times.

The move could enable Iran to develop a covert plant to house uranium enrichment centrifuges, said one nonproliferation expert.

“To me, it’s a serious retreat,” said David Albright, head of the Institute for Science and International Security.  “They could build a backup centrifuge facility and not tell the IAEA. It creates a situation where Iran could build a centrifuge facility in secret” (Shanker/Broad, New York Times, March 26).

The Saturday resolution was the second set of sanctions the Security Council has approved since late last year, when it sought new means to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear program.

“It’s a significant international rebuke to Iran and it’s a significant tightening of international pressure on Iran,” said U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns.  “We do believe it’s going to leave Iran even more isolated than it has been.”

“This resolution sends an unambiguous signal to the government and people of Iran ... that the path of nuclear proliferation by Iran is not one that the international community can accept,” said British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry (Alexandra Olson, Associated Press I/The Spokesman-Review, March 24).

The new resolution expands an earlier list of Iranian individuals and firms that are to have their foreign-held assets frozen.  The current list includes 15 people affiliated with nuclear and missile activities or the Revolutionary Guard and 13 institutions.

In addition, the new sanctions bar Iran from selling weapons and urges restraint among U.N. nations in selling heavy weapons to Iran.

The resolution asks Iran to freeze its sensitive nuclear activities within 60 days and asks the International Atomic Energy Agency to assess Iran’s compliance with that demand.

If the agency finds that Iran has not frozen its nuclear program, the resolution says the council “will adopt further appropriate measures” (U.N. Security Council resolution, March 24).

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not appear before the council as he said he would, and he asserted that the United States had failed to issue him a visa in time, AP reported.  Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was able to acquire a visa, however, and spoke to the 15-nation council.

“The world must know —and it does — that even the harshest political and economic sanctions or other threats are far too weak to coerce the Iranian nation to retreat from their legal and legitimate demands,” he said after the vote. “Suspension is neither an option nor a solution” (Olson, Associated Press I).

Meanwhile, the United States has successfully pursued a unilateral effort to encourage international financial institutions to curtail their relations with Iran, U.S. officials said.

The financial press has resulted in more than 40 banks and other firms cutting off or reducing their dealings with Iran, said officials from the U.S. State and Treasury departments.

“All the banks we’ve talked to are reducing significantly their exposure to Iranian business,” said Stuart Levey, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. “It’s been a universal response.  They all recognize the risks — some because of what we’ve told them and some on their own.  You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to see the dangers” (Robin Wright, Washington Post, March 26).

Adding to tensions in the nuclear crisis was the Iranian detention Friday of 15 British sailors and marines, captured in a waterway that borders Iran and Iraq, AP reported.

The 15 had been conducting searches of shipping in the area and were seized in Iranian waters, according to Iranian officials.  British officials have disputed that claim and have demanded their release, according to AP.

“It should become clear whether their entry (into Iran) was intentional or unintentional,” said Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mehzi Mostafavi.  “After that is clarified, the necessary decision will be made” on their release, he added (Nasser Karimi, Associated Press II/Houston Chronicle, March 26).

Russian officials reported today that Iran has resumed making payments for nuclear power reactor Russia has been building at Bushehr, Agence France-Presse reported.  Moscow last month announced a delay to the project and blamed a financial dispute, but some officials indicated that the reactor’s construction would not resume until the larger nuclear crisis was resolved (see GSN, March 20).

Russia had “received the first payment for building of the Bushehr nuclear power station since the cut in financing,” according to a Russian statement released today.

“Our Iranian partners have overcome the difficulties they had.  This is positive but still far from compensates for the period of nonpayment for the needs of the site,” the statement added (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, March 26).

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