Major powers send Iran sanctions plan to UN

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The six major powers confronting Iran over its nuclear program instructed their UN ambassadors to begin drawing up a sanctions resolution against Tehran, a senior US official said.

Senior diplomats from the six -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- finalized a preliminary list of possible sanctions during a videoconference Wednesday morning, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told AFP.

"As expected, it was agreed that the matter should now go to the (permanent representatives) in New York," he said, adding that consultations on drafting a Security Council resolution would likely begin later this week.

Iran defied an August 31 UN deadline for suspending a uranium enrichment program that Washington and others fear will be subverted to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons.

Iran says the program is designed only to provide fuel for nuclear power stations and as such is allowed under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

McCormack said that following weeks of intensive discussions among the six over how to proceed, there was now "a fundamental agreement on going to sanctions and a sanctions resolution" at the United Nations.

"I think there is broad agreement on the potential sanctions that would be included, but not yet agreement on the specific items that would be in a resolution, that has to be worked out," he said.

The five permanent Security Council members plus Germany drew up in June a list of 15 possible punitive measures against Iran as part of a "carrots and sticks" package that also included economic and political rewards if Tehran agreed to suspend uranium enrichment.

The plan, which was never officially released but was leaked to the press, called for a graduated series of measures, firstly targetting Iran's military programs and later, if these fail, moving to broader political and economic sanctions.

McCormack confirmed that list sent to the UN ambassadors on Wednesday was a "subset" of the sanctions included in the earlier document.

The broader list included an embargo on the export of goods and technologies linked to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, a freeze on assets related to the programs and travel bans on nuclear and weapons scientists.

Tougher measures would prohibit financial transactions by individuals or organizations involved in the arms programs and a ban on investment in entities engaged in the programs.

Washington has been arguing in favor of imposing sanctions since Iran ignored the August 31 deadline.

But under strong pressure from China and Russia, which both have important economic ties to Iran and traditionally oppose sanctions as a diplomatic weapon, the US agreed to several additional weeks of negotiations aimed at convincing the Iranians to suspend enrichment and accept the incentives package.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who represented the six in those talks, acknowledged last week that they had failed, setting the stage for a sanctions resolution.

Russia and China were still expected to try to minimize the impact of any sanctions during the drafting of a Security Council resolution.

The process was complicated this week by North Korea's announcement that it had carried out its first test of a nuclear bomb.

The claim sparked universal condemnation and urgent moves at the United Nations for a tough sanctions resolution targetting Pyongyang.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that while the North Korea matter is the most urgent to deal with, parallel moves to draw up a sanctions resolution against Iran could still proceed.

"The United States is quite capable of taking care of several problems simultaneously," she said, voicing confidence that "we're going to have a Security Council resolution under Chapter 7, Article 41" against Iran.

Article 41 contains the strongest language of the UN Charter, allowing for mandatory sanctions against a member nation which is deemed a "threat to international peace and security."