World's major powers agree on Iran sanctions package

The world’s major powers have sent a strong signal to Iran that they remain united in seeking to rein in its nuclear ambitions.

They compromised on a new sanctions package to step up pressure against the Islamic republic to suspend uranium enrichment.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed to ignore any sanctions and said the UN Security Council had “no legitimacy”.

Yet, he asked to speak to the UN’s most powerful body on the day it votes on the new resolution, which is likely to be approved unanimously given the support of the five veto-wielding members.

Yesterday’s agreement on the modest sanctions package by Germany and the five permanent council nations – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - culminated more than two weeks of negotiations. It also engendered bruised feelings among the 10 non-permanent council members who serve two-year terms and were left out of the discussions.

South Africa’s UN Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, the current council president, said the non-permanent members would need time to consider the text. He said the council would not take up the draft resolution backed by the six countries until Wednesday, and a vote is not expected until late next week at the earliest.

Kumalo said Iran’s UN Mission sent a request yesterday for Mr Ahmadinejad to address the council when it votes on the resolution. Under the UN Charter and Security Council rules, he said, if a member state has an issue before the council and requests to appear before its members, “this must be considered”. He said the council would take up the request today.

While saying the decision was up to the council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon backed Ahmadinejad’s request. “Particularly when the agenda item is concerning a member state, it should have a right to participate in any deliberations of any organisation of the United Nations,” he said.

The proposed new sanctions would ban Iranian arms exports and freeze the assets of 28 additional individuals and organisations involved in the country’s nuclear and missile programmes – about a third linked to Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard. The package also calls for voluntary restrictions on travel by the individuals subject to sanctions and on new financial assistance or loans to the Iranian government.

In December, the Security Council voted unanimously to impose limited sanctions against Iran for its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment. It ordered all countries to stop supplying Iran with materials and technology that could contribute to its nuclear and missile programmes and to freeze assets of 10 key Iranian companies and 12 individuals related to those programmes.

Iran responded by expanding its enrichment programme – and Mr Ahmadinejad remains defiant.

Speaking after yesterday’s six-power agreement, he told a rally in the central city of Meibod: “These threats won’t have one iota of effect on the strong will of the Iranian nation.”

“You (world powers) cannot force the Iranian nation to retreat” on its nuclear programme, the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted the president as saying.

Like the December resolution, the new draft asks UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei to report to the council in 60 days on whether Iran has suspended its enrichment activities.