The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday to tighten sanctions on Iran but without the presence of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who had wanted to defend his country's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.

The measures, aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear program, targets the country's arms exports, the state-owned Bank Sepah and the elite Revolutionary Guards.

The decision prohibits Iran from supplying, selling or transferring weapons either directly or indirectly to other countries, and prohibits all UN member states from transporting Iranian-made weapons by air or sea.

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A Western diplomat said that the resolution's significance lies in the fact that weapons transfers from Iran to Syria will henceforth represent a violation of the Security Council resolution.

The White House welcomed the vote, saying it showed unity among many countries in demanding Iran suspend its uranium enrichment.

White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the vote sent a "strong message to Iran's leaders: stop isolating your country and your people, suspend your program and come to the table."

Johndroe added, "The international community is united, it's time for Iran to comply or potentially face harsher measures in the future."

In response to the resolution, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said, "Iran does not seek confrontation nor does it want anything beyond its inalienable rights."

"I can assure you that pressure and intimidation will not change Iranian policy," he added. "Suspension is neither an option or a solution."

"The Security Council's decision to try to coerce Iran into suspension of its peaceful nuclear program is a gross violation" of the U.N. Charter," Mottaki said.

Late on Friday, Ahmadinejad canceled his appearance before the 15-member council because visas for his flight crew were delivered too late for his private plane to arrive in New York before the vote. Washington disputes this.

Instead, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who took a commercial flight, came to the council to address suspicions that Iran is developing nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian atomic energy program.

The sanctions would be suspended if Iran halted enrichment work.

"It is suspension for suspension," acting U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff said earlier. "It is not a high bar for Iran to meet."

Germany and the permanent council members with veto power - the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China - spent a month in intensive negotiations drawing up the text.

To get the support of South Africa, Indonesia and Qatar, they added the importance of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction and highlighted the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

South Africa's UN ambassador, Dumisani Kumalo, who had submitted amendments that deleted all the sanctions, said he voted in favor because of Pretoria's opposition to nuclear weapons but criticized the resolution for penalizing Iranian institutions beyond the nuclear sphere.

The new measures are a follow-up to a resolution adopted on Dec. 23 banning trade with Iran in sensitive nuclear materials and ballistic missiles, as well as freezing assets of individuals and institutions associated with Tehran's atomic programs.

Saturday's resolution may affect Iran's economy but does not touch on its oil industry. Iran is the world's fourth largest oil producer.

It imposes an embargo on all conventional weapons Iran can sell and freeze the assets abroad of 28 individuals, institutions and companies, including Bank Sepah, as the United States has already done, isolating it from international financing.

The text calls on - but does not order - nations and international financial institutions to restrict new grants, credits and loans to Iran.

The resolution also calls for a voluntary travel embargo on Iranian officials and Revolutionary Guard commanders listed in the text and urges restrictions on the import of heavy weapons to Iran.

Earlier Saturday, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the capture of 15 sailors and marines by Iran must not complicate a push to impose further sanctions on Tehran because of its disputed nuclear program.

Solana said a second UN Security Council resolution imposing sanctions over Iran's refusal to halt its program to enrich uranium would go ahead as planned.

Also Saturday, Germany - the current president of the EU - demanded the immediate release of 15 navy personnel.

"The Presidency of the Council of the European Union calls upon the Iranian government to immediately release the 15 British seamen detained yesterday," a statement issued by the German Foreign Ministry said.

It said the German Embassy in Tehran had raised the matter with the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters ealier that Berlin had obtained official confirmation that the troops were under arrest for an alleged border violation.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair avoided reporters' questions about Iran on arrival in Berlin for ceremonies marking the EU's 50th anniversary.

Solana told journalists in Berlin that the EU was cooperating with British authorities.

"They [British authorities] have our support and solidarity," he said.

"The resolution will follow its course," he said. "It will probably be approved today New York time or tomorrow. It would be a tremendous mistake if these two things were mixed."

"The approach to the resolution is not going to change because of the events of the last days. Nobody wants to change that, not even the British government."


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