The Associated Press is reporting that the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council (U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France) met again late Sunday to discuss the next sanctions it will impose on Iran for refusing to freeze its uranium enrichment program, and for failing to answer questions about past Iranian dabbling in black market-acquired plans for nuclear development:
“Ambassadors from the five permanent council members — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — and Germany met again late Sunday for 1 1/2 hours to discuss what additional sanctions to include in a new U.N. resolution, but made little headway. It was their fifth session in a week. Russia and China, which both have strong business ties with Iran, have often been at odds with the U.S. and Europe over how tough to be on Tehran. [China’s Ambassador] Wang said the basic positions of the six countries remained the same ‘so I feel now it’s up to our capitals to have one more round of exercises before we can meet again’. He said it would be at least a couple of days before the permanent members come up with a draft resolution. [Russia’s Ambassador] Churkin said negotiations were ‘moving slowly, back and forth’. Asked whether the six were any closer to agreement, he said, ‘maybe a little bit’. [America’s Ambassador] Wolff said Sunday’s session was ‘a difficult one’. ‘As always, when you get down to the last bits of agreement, the discussions harden a bit’, he said. ‘We had a session today that sowed that there were still some firm views on all sides. … I am hopeful still that we can overcome these remaining differences’…In December, the Security Council imposed limited sanctions against Iran for its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment, which can be used both to produce nuclear fuel and build an atomic bomb. The council is now considering additional sanctions, including a travel ban, an arms embargo, trade restrictions and an expanded list of people and companies subject to an asset freeze…
Among the proposed new sanctions are asset freezes against companies controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, an elite corps that oversees vital Iranian interests, including oil and natural gas installations and the nation’s missile arsenal. Russia has raised concerns that mentioning the Revolutionary Guards would amount to censuring the entire institution. However, a council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks were closed, said the sanctions would probably not target the Revolutionary Guards as a whole, but single out individual members and companies. China, meanwhile, has resisted proposed cutbacks on loan guarantees for companies doing business in Iran, a measure strongly supported by the United States. There has been less friction over a proposal to ban Iran from exporting arms, although China wants the banned weapons to be specifically defined.”
In a directly-related development, according to this AP report: “President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to take his case for pursuing nuclear power before the UN Security Council, the government said Sunday, as the world body debates new sanctions on the Islamic nation for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment. ‘The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran intends to attend a U.N. Security Council meeting to be held on Iran’s nuclear case in order to defend the rights of the Iranian nation in exploiting peaceful nuclear energy’, state TV quoted government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham as saying. The report did not say when Ahmadinejad wanted to appear before the 15-member council, which would have to approve his request after closed consultations. [Because Iran is not a member of the Security Council — not because it is the vilified Ahmedinejad who wants to speak…] South Africa’s U.N. Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, whose country holds the rotating Security Council presidency [in March], said Ahmadinejad had not made a formal request, but if he did, ‘it would be very difficult to deny him that opportunity’. Kumalo said he would ‘be open to consulting’ with the other council members on scheduling Ahmadinejad’s appearance. ‘I would be surprised if they said they don’t want to hear him’, he told The Associated Press. Russia’s U.N. Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, when asked about Ahmadinejad’s desire to address the Security Council, said: ‘Interesting idea’. ‘I think that any member can have the right to come to the council if they wish’, said China’s U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya. He then added with a laugh: ‘It will be fun if he comes — especially in connection with the adoption of this resolution!’ Acting U.S. ambassador Alejandro Wolff said he would wait for a formal request to the council. ‘I’ve not seen any request for a visa’, he said. ‘I’ve not seen anything concrete, so I don’t know what to make of it’.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070312/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_nuclear;
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