World Powers to Push for More Iran Sanctions

Jan. 22, 2008 — -- After months of diplomatic wrangling, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany agreed Tuesday to impose new sanctions on Iran over its suspect nuclear program, but U.S. officials said the new measure fell short of what they were pushing for.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, speaking at a press conference after negotiations in Berlin today between the permanent five members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany, said the sanctions proposal would be passed on to the Security Council for further consideration.

"Germany, France and Britain will submit a draft resolution in the coming weeks, which will be discussed with the members of the Security Council," Steinmeier said after meetings that included Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the foreign ministers from Great Britain, France, Russia and China.

Iran, meanwhile, has maintained it will not cave into pressure from sanctions.

Steinmeier did not reveal what agreed sanctions would be, saying the rest of the Security Council would be notified before the draft becomes public, but State Department officials said the measures are weaker than the United States had wanted.

The sanctions would only expand existing sanctions, a U.S. official said, rather than adding new ones.

The official said the sanctions would broaden asset freezes and travel bans already in place, as well as increase cargo inspections and financial monitoring of two Iranian banks, Bank Melli and Bank Saderat.

The previous sanctions resolution passed in the Security Council in last March, but the process had since stalled over disagreements between various countries.

During that time the list of possible sanctions had been consistently watered down, according to U.S. and European diplomats who spoke only on the condition of anonymity.

Both Russia and China have had serious reservations about penalizing Tehran too harshly, they said. China is said to be worried that more sanctions would harm its oil investments in Iran.