U.S., allies present proposal for Iran sanctions

Brushing aside Iran's latest offer to address concerns on its nuclear program, the major powers introduce a list of new U.N. sanctions.The measures would limit arms sales and allow searches of ships.

May 18, 2010|By Paul Richter and Christi Parsons, Los Angeles Times

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  Michael Reynolds, European Pressphoto

Reporting from Washington —

The United States and other major powers, brushing aside Iran's latest offer to address international concerns about its nuclear program, introduced a detailed list of new U.N. sanctions Tuesday against the Islamic Republic.

The new punitive measures, which would limit arms sales to Iran and authorize searches of ships for suspected weapons, came a day after Iranian leaders, flanked by Brazilian and Turkish officials, announced an agreement on a nuclear material swap that they said should relieve international concerns.

The Iranian offer was received with skepticism by most world powers. U.S., French, German and Russian officials all raised questions about the announcement, noting that Iran would still keep more than a ton of its nuclear stockpile and would continue enriching uranium in its centrifuges.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, appearing at a Senate hearing Tuesday, disclosed that the United States and its Western European allies had finally won agreement from China and Russia on a new sanctions package.

"This announcement is as convincing an answer to the efforts undertaken by Iran over the last few days as any we could provide," Clinton said.

U.S. and allied officials portrayed the proposed sanctions as a major step but acknowledged that the measures might not be sufficient to force Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program and comply with United Nations demands. The proposal formally presented Tuesday by the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council for consideration by the full, 15-member panel would probably be combined with other sanctions imposed by individual countries and groups of nations, which would intensify pressure.

Officials said deliberations within the polarized council could take weeks and might be snarled by the last-minute offer by Iran on Sunday aimed at defusing growing international pressure on Tehran.

The plan worked out with Brazil and Turkey calls for Iran to ship 2,640 pounds of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey under the supervision of Iran and the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog. In return, Iran would receive 265 pounds of uranium from France and Russia within a year for use in a small nuclear reactor that produces medical isotopes to treat the ill.

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