UN Security Council Passes New Nuclear Sanctions Against Iran

The U.N. Security Council passed a new round of sanctions against Iran today for its failure to comply with previous resolutions demanding Tehran halt its nuclear enrichment program. The new measures build on previous sanctions and pave the way for European countries to take their own punitive steps.


Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) visits the Natanz uranium enrichment facilities April 8, 2008 200 miles (322 km) south of the Tehran, Iran. The UN Security Council will vote on new sanctions for Iran.
Resolution 1929 passed 12-2 with Brazil and Turkey voting against the measure. In a surprise move, Lebanon , whose government includes members of the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah, abstained from the vote, which was delayed to allow those three countries to consult with their governments after last-minute diplomatic efforts by the United States and others. Earlier this morning Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, according to a U.S. official.

"Today the Security Council has responded decisively to the grave threat to international peace and security posed by Iran's failure to live up to its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice said after the vote.

"These are the most comprehensive sanctions that the Iranian government has faced," President Obama said later from Washington.

"These sanctions show the united view of the international community that a nuclear arms race in the Middle East is in nobody's interest. And that nations must be held accountable for challenging the global nonproliferation regime," he added.