U.N. council imposes new sanctions on Iran

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Councilratcheted up sanctions on Iran on Monday for refusing tosuspend nuclear enrichment and other sensitive activities, butTehran dismissed the decision as illegal.

There were 14 votes in favour, none against and onecountry, Indonesia, abstained. Previous sanctions resolutionswere adopted unanimously in December 2006 and March 2007, butcouncil envoys said Monday's message to Iran was a strong one.

Iran denounced the current and previous resolutions asviolations of international law and said they only harmed the15-nation Security Council's standing.

"The credibility of the Security Council ... is readilydowngraded to a mere tool of the national foreign policy ofjust a few countries," Iran's U.N. ambassador, MohammadKhazaee, told the council before the vote.

He also dismissed as "baseless" new U.S. intelligencesuggesting Iran had conducted an intensive study into buildingatomic weapons, saying his country's nuclear program "has been,is and will remain absolutely peaceful."

Speaking at the opening of a meeting of the U.N. nuclearwatchdog's governing board in Vienna, Mohamed ElBaradei, theagency's head, urged Tehran to clear up the matter swiftly.

"I urge Iran to be as active and cooperative as possible inworking with the agency to clarify this matter of seriousconcern," ElBaradei told the 35-nation policy-making board ofthe International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The sanctions resolution calls for more travel andfinancial curbs on Iranian individuals and companies and makessome restrictions mandatory. It also expands a previous ban ontrade in items with both civilian and military uses.

In addition, it calls for increased vigilance over Iranianfinancial institutions and says countries should be especiallywary of two large Iranian banks -- Bank Melli and Bank Saderat.Dealings with Iran's Bank Sepah were banned last year.

TIGHTENING THE SCREWS

Tehran has so far ignored all council and IAEA resolutionsdemanding it freeze its uranium enrichment program, which canproduce fuel for nuclear power plants or atomic weapons.

Diplomats describe the sanctions as a moderate tighteningof the screws from the two previous resolutions. They said thiswas the most Washington could get after a surprising U.S.intelligence report released in December said Iran had scrappedan atom bomb program in 2003.

The five permanent council members -- the United States,Britain, France, China and Russia -- and Germany, which is noton the council, agreed in Berlin on January 22 on a draft textoutlining a third round of sanctions against Tehran.

Washington had hoped for a swift vote on the sanctions textbut negotiations dragged on for a month and a half.

It had been clear since January that the new sanctionswould pass, since they had the backing of all permanent councilmembers -- including Russia and China, which have closebusiness ties with Iran -- and six non-permanent members.

But the resolution's European co-sponsors -- Britain,France and Germany -- wanted to send the strongest possiblemessage to Iran by getting as close to unanimity as possible.

Libya, Vietnam and South Africa, as well as Indonesia, hadexpressed reservations about the resolution, but vigorousWestern lobbying managed to win over all except Jakarta.

"Iran is cooperating with the IAEA," Indonesian AmbassadorMarty Natalegawa said, explaining his decision to abstain. "Atthis juncture more sanctions are not the best course."

In a statement on behalf of the five permanent members andGermany, British Ambassador John Sawers told the council thegroup wanted EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to meetIran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili to try to reopennegotiations and resolve the nuclear impasse.

Without elaborating, Sawers said the six powers werewilling to beef up the incentives offer Solana delivered toTehran in 2006 if Iran suspended enrichment.

"We reconfirm the proposals we presented to Iran in June2006 and are prepared to further develop them," he said. "Ourproposals will offer substantial opportunities for political,security and economic benefits to Iran and to the region."

Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya reiterated Beijing'scommitment to negotiations but urged Iran to "fully comply withIAEA and Security Council resolutions as soon as possible."

Israel's Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying theresolution was "an unequivocal message that the internationalcommunity cannot accept Iran's defiant nuclear program."

Speaking to reporters, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzadadopted a similar tone: "It's just too dangerous for the worldto accept this (Iranian) government having access to productionof fissile material and getting close or acquiring a nuclearweapons capability."

(Additional reporting by Patrick Worsnip at the UnitedNations, Mark Heinrich in Vienna and Parisa Hafezi in Tehran;Editing by Cynthia Osterman)