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United Nations: The UN Security Council voted unanimously yesterday to impose sanctions on Iran's trade in sensitive nuclear materials and ballistic missiles, a move aimed at getting Tehran to halt uranium enrichment work.
"Today we are placing Iran in the small category of states under Security Council sanctions," acting US Ambassador Alejandro Wolff told the council before the 15-0 vote. Qatar's UN envoy Nasser Abdul Aziz Al Nasser, the president of the council for December, announced the unanimous vote.
Al Nasser, who had abstained during a previous council vote on the Iranian nuclear programme last July, voted in favour this time, even though he had expressed reservations about the sanctions during the negotiations last week.
Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who was successful in watering down parts of the resolution, emphasised that the resolution did not permit any use of force.
Tehran condemns step
Moscow's earlier hesitation over supporting the resolution prompted a phone call yesterday between President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had reviewed the resolution until the last minute following tough negotiations.
Russia is building an $800 million (about Dh2.94 billion) light-water reactor for Tehran that is exempted in the resolution. The thrust of the sanctions is a ban on imports and exports of dangerous materials and technology relating to uranium enrichment, reprocessing and heavy-water reactors, as well as ballistic missile delivery systems.
Iran condemned the resolution as an illegal measure outside the UN's jurisdiction. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said the resolution "cannot affect or limit Iran's peaceful nuclear activities but will discredit the decisions of the Security Council."
Key points: Assets of 23 firms and individuals frozen
- The resolution orders all countries to ban the supply of specified materials and technology that could contribute to Iran's nuclear programmes.
- It imposes an asset freeze on key companies and individuals in the country's nuclear and missile programmes named on a UN list.
- Those targeted include 11 organisations and 12 individuals. They include the Atomic Energy Organisation and firms dealing with its centrifuge programmes.
- If Iran refuses to comply, the resolution warns Iran that the council will adopt further non-military sanctions.
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