Iran dismisses U.N. sanctions draft

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Iran dismisses U.N. sanctions draft

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Wed May 19, 8:07 PM

By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran on Wednesday dismissed a draft U.N. resolution to expand

sanctions as lacking legitimacy, but U.S. President Barack Obama insisted

Washington would press ahead and that Tehran could not be trusted.

The draft resolution, agreed to by all five permanent Security Council members

after months of negotiation, targets Iranian banks and calls for inspection of

vessels suspected of carrying cargo related to Iran's nuclear or missile

programs.

But the proposed sanctions are far more modest than the crippling measures

Obama's administration originally pushed for, largely as a result of objections

by China and Russia, which have close trading ties with Tehran.

" The draft being discussed at the United Nations Security Council has no

legitimacy at all, " Iran's semi-official Fars news agency quoted President

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's senior adviser Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi as saying.

Western diplomats said the text resulted from a compromise between the United

States and its three European allies, which had pushed for much tougher

sanctions against Tehran, and Russia and China, which sought to dilute them.

Few of the proposed measures are new. But Western diplomats said the end result

was probably the best they could have hoped for, given China's and Russia's

determination to avoid measures that might have undermined Iran's troubled

economy.

Despite that, Obama hailed the draft plan and again called on Iran to curb its

nuclear ambitions.

" Given Mexico's seat on the U.N. Security Council, we agreed on the need for

Iran to uphold its international obligations or face increased sanctions and

pressure, " he told reporters after talks with Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

Obama later told Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan by telephone that

fundamental concerns remained over Iran's nuclear program and " negotiations on a

new U.N. Security Council resolution will continue, " the White House said.

While acknowledging a nuclear fuel swap deal Turkey and Brazil brokered with

Iran on Monday, Obama said Tehran had yet to notify the U.N. nuclear watchdog of

its intentions and the Islamic Republic's recent actions " do not build

confidence. "

Iranian politicians sought to reassure Iranians that any new sanctions would

have no more impact than existing measures, which had failed to cripple the

economy.

" Despite all the restrictions that the arrogant countries impose on Iran in the

global arena, the Islamic Republic has significant successes in political and

economic fields, " Energy Minister Majid Namjou was quoted as saying by ILNA news

agency.

'NO CHANCE'

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said there was " no chance for a new

resolution " to be approved at the Security Council. " Let's not take this

seriously, " he told reporters at a meeting in Tajikistan.

Iran rejects Western allegations its nuclear program is aimed at developing

weapons. It says its atomic ambitions are limited to the peaceful generation of

electricity and refuses to suspend uranium enrichment.

" A fourth round of sanctions is unlikely to change the Iranian attitude toward

its nuclear program. Developing its nuclear program is a strategic decision and

currently priority for the regime in Tehran, " said Stracke, an Iran

expert at Gulf Research Center in Dubai.

" Therefore, the Iranian regime will divert the resources necessary to further

the progress of its nuclear program. "

The decision to circulate the resolution to the Security Council on Tuesday was

a rebuff to a deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey in which Iran agreed to send

some enriched uranium abroad in return for fuel rods for a medical research

reactor.

Iran and the two countries that brokered the swap deal urged a halt to talk of

further sanctions. But the United States and its European allies regard the deal

as a maneuver by Iran to delay their efforts to increase pressure on Tehran.

U.S. Ambassador Rice said the fuel deal had " nothing to do " with the

uranium enrichment that led to the first three rounds of sanctions on Iran and

the latest draft resolution.

Erdogan, speaking by phone with Russian Prime Minister Valdimir Putin, said the

Iran nuclear standoff must be solved through dialogue and diplomacy, Erdogan's

office said. Putin said Turkey's and Brazil's efforts opened " additional

possibilities, " the statement said.

Western powers say that in addition to refusing to suspend enrichment, Iran has

not opened up completely to International Atomic Energy Agency inspections.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bruno Valero said the swap deal " will be

considered once detailed and written proposals by Iran are submitted to the

IAEA. "

The draft resolution " calls upon states to take appropriate measures that

prohibit " the opening of new Iranian bank branches or offices abroad if there is

reason to suspect they might be aiding Iran's nuclear or missile programs.

It also calls on states " to exercise vigilance over transactions involving

Iranian banks, including the Central Bank of Iran " to ensure those transactions

do not aid Tehran's nuclear and missile programs.

It urges countries to be wary of dealing with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard

Corps and says some members and companies it controls will be added to existing

lists of individuals and firms facing asset freezes and travel bans.

The draft calls for an expansion of an existing arms embargo to include more

types of heavy weapons.

The draft will likely be revised in the coming weeks.

Aside from Turkey and Brazil, council member Lebanon has made clear it would

have trouble supporting sanctions against Iran. Lebanon, diplomats say, will

likely abstain from a vote on the resolution because the Iranian-backed militant

group Hezbollah is in its government.

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington, Olzhas Auyezov in

Dushanbe, Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow, Robin Pomeroy in Tehran, Fredrik Dahl in

Dubai and Irish in Paris; Writing by Dominic ; Editing by Samia

Nakhoul and Cooney)