UN powers back new sanctions against Iraq, ignoring Tehran deal to stave off penalties

UN powers back new sanctions against Iraq

UNITED NATIONS — The United States introduced a resolution backed by all veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that would impose new sanctions against Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard and seek to curtail military, financial and shipping activities linked to its suspect nuclear program.

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the resolution would give “greater teeth” to existing sanctions and add “strong” new measures to intensify pressure on the Iranian government to resolve concerns that its nuclear program is peaceful and not aimed at producing nuclear weapons.

Russia and China, which have close ties to Iran, joined fellow permanent council members Britain, France and the United States as well as non-member Germany in supporting the sanctions proposal, ignoring a deal that Tehran agreed to a day earlier to try to stave off the penalties.

Rice said the pursuit of new sanctions has nothing to do with a proposed swap of nuclear material for Tehran’s research reactor that Iran agreed to on Monday with Brazil and Turkey. She said the proposed resolution is targeting the Islamic Republic’s refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment program and its plans to build 10 new nuclear facilities.

The draft resolution would target a range of activities related to Iran’s nuclear program including the Revolutionary Guard, which controls companies and organizations that have links to weapons proliferation, a senior U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the resolution has not been released publicly. These companies and individuals would be added to a list of those subject to an asset freeze and travel ban which is still being compiled.

The draft would also ban Iranian investment in sensitive nuclear activities abroad such as uranium mining, prohibit the sale of eight categories of heavy weapons to the Islamic Republic including attack helicopters, warships and missiles, and ban Iran from undertaking any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the official said.

The last sanctions resolution, adopted in March 2008, authorized inspection of cargo suspected of containing banned items on planes and ships owned or operated by Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line. The U.S. official said the new proposal would call on states to cooperate in inspections — which must receive the consent of the ship’s flag state — and ban services to Iranian owned or contracted vessels suspected of carrying prohibited cargo.