Last update - 00:00 29/02/2008
Iran tells UN council sanctions over nuclear program aren't legal
By Reuters
Iran's foreign minister has written to the UN Security Council arguing that sanctions resolutions against the country over its nuclear program lack any legal basis and undermine the council's credibility.
The Iranian response came following comments by British and French officials on Thursday that they expected the Security Council to vote Saturday on new sanctions against Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment.
The two countries co-sponsored the resolution that would impose a third round of sanctions on Iran.
Britain's UN Ambassador John Sawers said the resolution would have been
adopted if it was put to a vote on Thursday.
But he said Britain and France want to give more time for countries that have expressed concerns about the resolution to raise questions and make
suggestions, in hopes they will join in supporting the resolution.
Four non-permanent council members have expressed concern about the resolution - Libya, Indonesia, South Africa and Vietnam.
Tehran denies Western charges it seeks nuclear weapons and has ignored three previous Security Council resolutions demanding it freeze its uranium enrichment program, which can produce fuel for nuclear power plants or atomic weapons.
Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in a letter to the Security Council that a recent report from the UN nuclear watchdog citing progress in its investigation of Iran's past nuclear activities proved the council had no right to punish Tehran for continuing its enrichment program.
"All the so-called justifications and flawed foundations for the UN Security Council's action on this issue are vanished and it shows that the resolutions ... lack any legal and technical justifications," Mottaki wrote.
The letter, addressed to Panamanian Ambassador Ricardo Alberto Arias, the council's current president, was dated February 27 and circulated to reporters on Thursday.
"Naturally the continuation of this trend (of sanctions) would undermine the credibility of the Security Council and ... weaken the integrity and position of the IAEA," Mottaki wrote.
The report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was mixed, saying Iran had not responded adequately to Western intelligence allegations of work linked to making atomic bombs but had clarified issues related to other past nuclear work.
Western countries do not believe the IAEA report vindicated Iran, as Mottaki argues. They say it raises serious concerns.
Waiting for a vote
The five permanent council members - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia - and Germany, which is not on the council, agreed on January 22 in Berlin on a draft text outlining a third round of sanctions against Tehran.
A diplomat from one of the resolution's three European co-sponsors said some of the four skeptical council members have not received instructions from their capitals and wanted to wait until at least next week to vote on the resolution.
South Africa's ambassador to the IAEA, Abdul Minty, said on Thursday that Pretoria wanted to delay the vote to avoid provoking Iran and jeopardizing its improved IAEA cooperation.
However, Iran's UN ambassador Mohammad Khazaee told reporters that Iran had no intention of curtailing cooperation with the agency even if the resolution is adopted. But he added that Tehran had no plan to halt enrichment either.
"Suspension I think is out of the question," he said.
He said the new sanctions, which are a moderate tightening of the screws from previous resolutions, would not harm Iran.
"We have learned to live under these circumstances," Khazaee said. "We are not going to see a major impact on our economy and political status."
The draft resolution calls for more travel and financial restrictions on named Iranian individuals and companies and makes some restrictions mandatory. Two earlier sanctions rounds were approved unanimously in December 2006 and March 2007.