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UN to tighten noose on Iran
22/01/2008 22:11 - (SA)
Berlin - The UN Security Council's permanent members and Germany agreed on Tuesday on the contents of a new draft resolution against Iran after talks on its nuclear programme, the German foreign minister said.
Diplomats said it would focus on strengthening and expanding existing sanctions.
"We agreed together today on the contents of such a resolution," Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after meeting his counterparts from the US, France, Britain, Russia and China.
"Germany, France and Great Britain will submit a draft resolution to the Security Council," where it could be discussed with the remaining council members over the coming weeks, he said.
Officials said that all six in attendance at the two-hour meeting would vote for the resolution.
The Security Council already has imposed two rounds of sanctions over Iran's defiance of international demands that it suspend uranium enrichment.
A European diplomat and a US official, both speaking of condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the resolution would expand existing sanctions. But the European diplomat said it would not feature new economic sanctions.
"It increased the severity of the sanctions, and it expands the sanctions in some of the categories," the US official said.
The US official referred specially to travel bans and asset freezes, but said the group agreed not to release the full text of the agreement until it had been distributed to the rest of the Security Council in the coming days.
The US official said: "This is a swift reminder to the Iranians that they are not in compliance.
"This resolution builds on the last two resolutions ... (and) it has some new elements that will be unveiled in New York."
Steinmeier said that "we appeal jointly with all urgency to the leadership in Tehran to comply without reservation with the demands of the Security Council" and the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog.
"Tehran has it in its power to seek the path of cooperation and reconciliation," he said.
Steinmeier stressed that "we jointly stand behind the double approach" that the international community has so far taken, of offering Iran incentives to give up enrichment, but also demanding that it comply with the international community's demands.
Steinmeier read out a brief statement in the presence of his fellow ministers. The group then left without taking questions.
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