Visiting US Undersecretary of State for political affairs
Nicholas Burns said in Jerusalem on Thursday that Iran might face a
new UN resolution with punitive sanctions against its nuclear
program, local media reported.
"This is a punitive resolution. I say this because I saw some
comments yesterday from Moscow that it wasn't, (but) it is, the
third highest diplomat of the US State Department was quoted by the
website of Yedioth Ahronoth as saying after talks with Israeli
officials in Jerusalem.
Burns, during a trip for talks with the Israelis over the
framework of strategic cooperation, said the new resolution would
be tabled Thursday or Friday, and there would be several weeks of
discussion and debate before a vote.
He mentioned he was confident that the resolution would pass, as
all five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US,
Britain, France, Russia and China - are working to build on
elements of a text agreed by foreign ministers in Berlin
Tuesday.
"We are confident that it will pass, we know it is the right
step. Iran is flagrantly out of compliance with its Security
Council obligations," he was quoted.
"The new resolution builds on the last two resolutions in many
of the same categories," which include a travel ban on certain
Iranian officials, freezing of assets of some institutions and a
ban on exports of dual-use items, he said.
Earlier, Israeli Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz said in a
meeting with Burns that all options are open in an effort to stop
the Iranian nuclear program in the next two years. He called for
international community to form a united front and keep up pressure
against Iran.
The United States and other Western powers fear Iran's nuclear
activities are aimed at building nuclear weapons. Israel believes
Iran could have a nuclear bomb by 2010 and says an Iranian atomic
weapon would threaten its existence.
Iraq denies seeking nuclear weapons and says it is enriching
uranium only for use in generating electricity.
(Xinhua News Agency January 25, 2008)
