Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




NUKEWARS
Iran in 'alarming' breaches of UN sanctions, envoys
by Staff Writers
United Nations (AFP) June 23, 2011


Western nations on Thursday accused Iran of carrying out "alarming" breaches of UN nuclear sanctions, often with Syria's aid.

The United States, France and Britain also stepped up demands for the publication of a UN Security Council expert report on Iran sanctions which is being blocked by Russia.

The experts' report contains "troubling findings" about sanctions violations, said US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice.

The experts set out a "complete and alarming" picture of Iran's violations, said French deputy UN ambassador Martin Briens, who highlighted three new cases of trading in arms and related technology reported since March.

No details of the case were made public at Thursday's Security Council meeting on the Iran sanctions regime.

Four rounds of UN sanctions have been ordered against Iran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. Western nations accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear bomb, while Tehran insists its nuclear drive is for civilian energy.

Stepping up pressure on Iran in recent months, Israel says it has intercepted a shipload of Iranian arms being transferred through Syria to the Gaza Strip. Iran has also been accused of providing missiles to the Taliban militia in Afghanistan. It denied the charge.

Iran's breaches involve nuclear and ballistic weapons and all other categories of sanctions passed, Briens told the meeting.

"They involve increasingly complex methods: the use of front companies, assumed names, using multiple financial intermediaries and currency exchange offices, physically hiding things, false statements and forgery," the French envoy said.

Syria is implicated in nearly all the violations and is itself refusing to cooperate with the panel of experts, Briens said. According to a copy of the blocked report seen by AFP, six of the nine arms transfer violations reported involved Syria.

The report also says that Iran's Revolutionary Guard and state shipping line, IRISL, are increasingly involved in sanctions violations. It says dozens of the maritime company's ships have had their names changed in recent months.

The US ambassador said the international community "must further strengthen the implementation and enforcement of UN sanctions." Rice backed the speedy implementation of recommendations made by the experts to tighten enforcement.

"It is clear that Iran continues to proliferate and continues to pursue a nuclear weapons program. Iran has given us no good reason to believe that it is willing to engage in meaningful negotiations on its nuclear program," said Britain's UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant.

Lyall Grant, along with the French and US envoys, demanded the Iran sanctions report be urgently made public. Russia has led a block on the release of the report, calling the document "sloppy".

Russia's deputy UN ambassador, Alexander Pankin, did not mention the block but told the Security Council meeting: "Unverified and politicized information would not help" the council.

.


Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








NUKEWARS
Ahmadinejad insists Iran not seeking nuclear bomb
Tehran (AFP) June 23, 2011
Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted Thursday that Iran is not seeking to build an atom bomb but defiantly added that should it decide to do so "no one can do a damn thing." "When we say we do not want to make bomb it means we do not want to," Ahmadinejad was quoted by the state television website as saying. "If we want to make a bomb we are not afraid of anyone and we are not ... read more


NUKEWARS
ARTEMIS Spacecraft Prepare for Lunar Orbit

LRO Showing Us the Moon as Never Before

CMU and Astrobotic Technology Complete Structural Assembly of Lunar Lander

Blood Red Moon Predicted

NUKEWARS
Radar for Mars Gets Flight Tests at NASA Dryden

19-Mile Mark See Opportunity For A Solar Panel Clean Up

Phobos slips past Jupiter

Countering Contamination for Mars Spacesuits

NUKEWARS
Unfasten your seatbelts aboard the ZERO-G

ESA reentry vehicle on track for flight in 2013

Space shuttle commander Kelly to retire from NASA

Looking for new vistas of space exploration

NUKEWARS
China to launch new communication satellite

China's second moon orbiter Chang'e-2 goes to outer space

Building harmonious outer space to achieve inclusive development

China's Fengyun-3B satellite goes into official operation

NUKEWARS
ATV-2: re-entry over the south Pacific

Progress M-11M space freighter launched into orbit

The end for ATV Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler has left the ISS

NUKEWARS
Arianespace to launch Astra 5B satellite

Arianespace receives the next Ariane 5 for launch in 2011

SpaceX Secures Launch Contract In Major Asian Market

SES-3 Satellite Arrives At Baikonour Launch Base

NUKEWARS
Microlensing Finds a Rocky Planet

A golden age of exoplanet discovery

CoRoT's new detections highlight diversity of exoplanets

Rage Against the Dying of the Light

NUKEWARS
BlackBerry maker upbeat on Asian growth markets

Selex radar set for South Korean army

Stretching Old Material Yields New Results for Energy

Yahsat Y1A satellite delivered in orbit




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement