UN Security Council gives Iran nuclear deadline

THE UN Security Council passed a weakened resolution yesterday giving Iran until August 31 to suspend uranium enrichment or face the threat of economic and diplomatic sanctions.

Iran immediately rejected the council action, saying it would only make negotiations more difficult concerning a package of incentives offered in June for it to suspend enrichment.

“All along it has been the persistence of some to draw arbitrary red lines and deadlines that has closed the door to any compromise,” said Iran’s UN Ambassador Javad Zarif. “This tendency has single-handedly blocked success and in most cases killed proposals in their infancy.

“This approach will not lead to any productive outcome and in fact it can only exacerbate the situation.”

Because of Russian and Chinese demands, the text was watered down from earlier drafts, which would have made the threat of sanctions immediate. The draft now essentially requires the council to hold more discussions before it considers sanctions.

The draft passed by a vote of 14-1. Qatar, which represents Arab states on the council, cast the lone dissenting vote.

Drafted by Britain, France and Germany with US backing, the resolution follows a July 12 agreement — by the foreign ministers of those four countries, plus Russia and China — to refer Tehran to the Security Council for not responding to the incentives package.

The ministers asked that council members adopt a resolution making Iran’s suspension of enrichment activities mandatory. The resolution includes that demand and calls on all states “to exercise vigilance” in preventing the transfer of all goods that could be used for Iran’s enrichment and ballistic missile programmes.

After the resolution was adopted, Zarif told the council it had no legal legitimacy to demand Iran suspend uranium enrichment and reprocessing. He repeated Iran’s claim that it has every right to pursue nuclear technology and does not want nuclear weapons.

Tehran said last week it would reply to the incentive package on August 22, but the council decided to go ahead with a resolution and not wait for Iran’s response.