By RIA Novosti
New York : A new UN Security Council resolution calling for sanctions against Iran over its refusal to halt its nuclear programme was officially introduced Thursday by Britain and France, the British envoy to the UN said.
“The text that we’ve circulated today (Thursday) reflects some of the comments we’ve had back from delegations,” John Sawers said, adding the draft resolution was agreed in principle last month during a meeting of foreign ministers from six nations – France, Germany, Britain, the US, China, Russia.
The envoy said: “This is as part of our twin-track approach of requiring Iran to suspend their most sensitive nuclear activities and to abide by the requests of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for full transparency.”
The document calls for further sanctions against two Iranian banks, inspections of air freight and shipping companies – Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line – and calls for tighter vigilance by those countries trading or issuing loans to Tehran.
Another change to the original document is a mandatory travel ban on Iranians already subject to sanctions. Previously the resolution called for a discretionary travel ban on entry and transit of individuals.
The draft document also calls for the nuclear watchdog IAEA and European Union (EU) to support Iran and to strengthen diplomatic ties with the six nations to resolve the problem over Iran’s nuclear program.
The diplomatic standoff between Iran and the West began almost six years ago over suspicions that Tehran was developing a secret weapons programme, while Tehran has always maintained it needs nuclear technology for peaceful means.
Since then, two rounds of sanctions have been imposed – in December 2006 and March 2007.