Security Council to Review Iran Nuclear Sanctions

The full U.N. Security Council is expected to take up proposed sanctions today for pressuring Iran to halt nuclear activities that could contribute to a weapons program, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Jan. 25).

Approval of the sanctions resolution could take several weeks, diplomats said on Friday, when elements of the package were presented to the 10 non-permanent Security Council member nations.

“It is a strong text which shows the continuity of the approach of the international community,” French U.N. envoy Jean-Maurice Ripert said in a statement.  “We are sending a very clear message to Iran and we are stepping up the pressure.”

The draft resolution text calls on the international community to “inspect cargos to and from Iran … provided there are reasonable grounds to believe that the aircraft/vessel is transporting goods prohibited under this resolution,” AFP reported.  It also calls for a ban on travel by Iranian officials involved in the country’s nuclear and missile programs (Agence France-Presse/Google News, Jan. 26).

The draft sanctions also demand “vigilance over the activities of financial institutions in their territories with all banks domiciled in Iran,” emphasizing Iran’s Bank Melli and Bank Sederat, Kyodo News reported.  The draft resolution says that scrutiny of Iranian business is necessary “to avoid such activities contributing to their proliferation sensitive nuclear activities, or to the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems.”

The draft also asks for International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei to report on Iran’s progress in disclosing its past nuclear activities within 90 days (Kyodo News, Jan. 26).

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Friday that the Security Council members should “correct their previous mistakes” by passing a new resolution to absolve their involvement in diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear program.

At a minimum, the Security Council should wait until the U.N. nuclear watchdog finishes its investigation of Iran’s nuclear past before imposing new sanctions, Mottaki told the Associated Press on Friday.

Mottaki also expressed skepticism that U.S.-Iranian ties could improve significantly in the foreseeable future.

“Usually we do not look to the individuals in the United States or even to the (political) parties — we look to policies,” Mottaki said.  “Being a realist ... I have to say that I do not see room for the time being for the (establishment) of relations between the Iran and the United States” (Geroge Jahn, Associated Press I/PR-inside, Jan. 26).

Meanwhile, Russia today completed its final shipment of nuclear fuel to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Eighty-two tons of low-enriched uranium fuel have been delivered to enable the reactor’s startup, according to IRNA.

The delivery was confirmed by Irina Yesipova, spokeswoman for the Russian nuclear power plant construction contractor Atomstroiexport.  However, she refused to confirm Iranian claims that the plant is set to begin running at half of its 1,000-megawatt capacity by this summer.

“It will be necessary to conduct complex work related to preparations for the launch with security being the top priority,” she said (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Jan. 28).

Also, Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site has manufactured 300 tons of uranium hexafluoride, Javad Vaidi, deputy head of Iran’s supreme national security council, said yesterday.

UF6 is a gas used in uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to produce nuclear weapon materials (Xinhua News Agency, Jan. 27).

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