By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - France and Britain have againdelayed a U.N. Security Council vote on a third round ofsanctions against Iran over its nuclear program in an effort towin over sceptics, diplomats said on Friday.
A U.N. spokeswoman said the Security Council would meet todiscuss Iran at 11 a.m. (4 p.m. British time) on Monday anddiplomats said Britain and France would call a vote on a draftresolution which was finalized on Friday and provided toReuters by a diplomat.
U.S. and British diplomats had earlier said the vote wouldprobably be held on Saturday but had left open the possibilitythat it could be pushed back a few days to allow time for morenegotiations with four reluctant council members.
The resolution will tighten existing sanctions, includingtravel bans and asset freezes, on Iran because of its refusalto halt uranium enrichment, which creates fuel for nuclearpower stations but also for atomic weapons, as demanded by thecouncil in three previous resolutions.
Iran denies Western allegations that it is amassing thecapability to produce nuclear weapons and says its atomicambitions are limited to peacefully generating electricity.Tehran has said the case for sanctions lacks any legal basisand that it has no intention to comply with the resolution.
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 have dragged on for over a month, mainly dueto resistance from four nonpermanent members of the 15-nationcouncil -- South Africa, Libya, Vietnam and Indonesia.
The resolution is backed by the five permanent members andsix others, meaning its adoption is not in doubt.
UNANIMITY MAY BE DIFFICULT
Two previous sanctions resolutions were approvedunanimously in December 2006 and March 2007. Diplomats say theEuropean co-sponsors of the resolution are not optimistic thatthe third one will have the support of all 15 council members.
But they will be using the weekend to try to win over thefour sceptics, which diplomats say have a variety ofreservations about the resolution. They could vote against theresolution or abstain.
Diplomats said the final version included some suggestionsmade by Vietnam in an effort to secure a "yes" vote from Hanoi.The text had few changes from the previous version but didinclude language stressing the key role of the Vienna-basedInternational Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
This was something all four sceptics had wanted.
The final text also includes language dealing with SouthAfrica's concerns about a paragraph requiring states to searchair and sea vessels with dubious cargo. It says searches mustcomply with international sea and aviation treaties and laws.
Diplomats said it was unclear if the amendments would beenough to satisfy Vietnam and South Africa.
British Ambassador John Sawers told reporters on Thursdaythat he wanted the resolution to have "as much support as ispossible." But even if there are abstentions or "no" votes, itwill be legally binding once adopted, Sawers said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy met his South Africancounterpart Thabo Mbeki during an official visit to the countryon Friday and diplomats said the two men discussed Iran.
It was unclear if the meeting had helped persuade the SouthAfricans to back the resolution, which is co-sponsored byGermany, France and Britain, they said. South Africa voted forthe second round of sanctions in March 2007.
"There will be meetings over the weekend and discussionsbetween the various capitals ahead of the vote," said onediplomat. "We'll have to see how those discussions turn out."
Libya's ambassador, Giadalla Ettalhi, indicated on Mondaythat he would probably vote against the resolution. Indonesia'senvoy says he is not convinced more sanctions is a good idea.
(Additional reporting by Patrick Worsnip; editing byMohammad Zargham)
