Global General

Iran dismisses UN sanctions as 'flies'

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-06-10 13:48

The new resolution imposes sanctions on 40 Iranian companies and organizations -- 15 linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, 22 involved in nuclear or ballistic missile activities and three linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. That more than doubles the 35 entities that had been subject to an asset freeze.

The sanctions add one individual to the previous list of 40 Iranians subject to an asset freeze -- Javad Rahiqi, who heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran's Esfahan Nuclear Technology Center. All 41 individuals will also now be subject to a travel ban.

Rahiqi declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press.

The resolution also calls on all countries to cooperate in cargo inspections -- which must receive the consent of the ship's flag state -- if there are "reasonable grounds" to believe the cargo could contribute to the Iranian nuclear program.

On the financial side, it calls on -- but does not require -- countries to block financial transactions, including insurance and reinsurance, and to ban the licensing of Iranian banks if they have information that provides "reasonable grounds" to believe these activities could contribute to Iranian nuclear activities.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday that new sanctions would pave the way for tougher additional measures by the US and its allies. France's UN Ambassador Gerard Araud said after Wednesday's vote that European Union foreign ministers will be meeting on Monday and France would like "a tough translation of the resolution," but it's up to the 27 countries to decide on additional sanctions.

Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, said the resolution "can serve as a viable platform" for nations to launch sanctions such as restrictions on Iran's ability to import gasoline. "They have a lot of oil, but not a lot of refined oil or the ability to export oil abroad," he said.

China's UN Ambassador Li Baodong said after the vote that the sanctions were aimed at curbing nonproliferation and would not affect "the normal life of the Iranian people" nor deter normal trade activity, a view echoed by Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin.

The five permanent council members and Germany, in a statement after the vote, reaffirmed their "determination and commitment to seek an early negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue ... which would restore international confidence in the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program." It welcomed and commended "all diplomatic efforts in this regard, especially those recently made by Brazil and Turkey."

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the new sanctions were "a mistake" implemented "just for spite." According to the state-run Agencia Brasil news agency, Silva said the resolution's supporters "threw out an historic opportunity to peacefully negotiate the Iranian nuclear program" -- the fuel-swap agreement his country and Turkey had championed.

Under the proposal, Iran would swap some of its enriched uranium for fuel for a research reactor in Tehran. The US, Russia and France have said that -- unlike the original plan drawn up eight months ago -- the proposal would leave Iran with enough material to make a nuclear weapon.

The three countries sent a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency seeking clarifications from Tehran, and several council ambassadors said they would still like to see the swap go ahead. Lebanon's Salam called it "a gateway for confidence building measures."

"We believe that the sanctions resolution is a painful failure of diplomatic efforts," Salam said. "We refuse to give up. We call on all states ... to reinitiate and intensify diplomatic efforts."

The new sanctions should bring little direct political fallout for Ahmadinejad. The country has been deeply polarized since last June's disputed presidential election -- which the opposition claims was rigged by vote fraud -- and Ahmadinejad's backers are likely to use the sanctions as a rallying cry.

In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez condemned the measures against Iran, his close ally.

"Why won't they sanction Israel? You realize the cynicism of the Yankee empire and its allies in the world," Chavez said in a televised speech Wednesday night. "Israel massacres, kills, doesn't comply with United Nations resolutions ... and the United Nations acts as if nothing had happened."