As reported here, [t]he U.N. Security Council voted unanimously yesterday to sanction Iran until it halts efforts to make nuclear fuel, drawing a quick rejection from the Islamist nation and threats of further penalties from the United States.
The resolution calls on governments to "prevent the supply, sale or transfer ... of all items, materials, equipment, goods and technology" related to Iran's suspect nuclear efforts or missiles.
The four-page resolution also includes an addendum of people, corporations and government bodies whose assets are to be frozen.
In addition, it provides a list of individuals whose international travel is to be "monitored," a concession to Russia, which had objected to a proposed travel ban on officials connected to Iran's nuclear program.
The Bush administration said it would seek further measures against Iran.
"We don't think this resolution is enough in itself. We want the international community to take further action," R. Nicholas Burns, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, said in Washington.
Although this is a good first step in an attempt to get Iran to stop their nuclear enrichment program, which in turn would halt their efforts to develop nuclear weapons, as Mr. Burns stated, it doesn't go far enough thanks to both China and Russia which both have strong economic ties to Iran, and don't want to lose the billions of trade dollars from fully isolating Iran.
Of course, the Iranians pitched a hissy fit over this, saying that it "has not delegated its destiny to the invalid decisions of the U.N. Security Council."
The true effectiveness of this resolution won't be known immediately, of course, as it remains to be seen whether the rest of the world will buy into what the resolution calls for. Hopefully, this won't turn into another "Oil-for-food" situation where countries, corporations, and individuals - with full complicity on the part of several people in the UN - came up with work-arounds to line their pockets with cash in their dealings with Saddam.
I'll be keeping a close eye on this situation.
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