UN Delays Vote on Iran Sanctions

This is what the UN does best....procrastination.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will likely delay a vote on a third round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, as Western countries lobby for a big vote in favour, diplomats said on Wednesday.

Tehran denies Western charges it seeks nuclear weapons and has ignored three previous Security Council resolutions demanding it freeze its uranium enrichment program, which can produce fuel for nuclear power plants or atomic weapons.

"It looks very likely there will not be a vote on the sanctions until next week," a Western diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Other diplomats confirmed this view.

....

The five permanent council members -- the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia -- and Germany, which is not on the council, agreed on January 22 in Berlin on a draft text outlining a third round of sanctions against Tehran.

Washington had hoped for a swift vote on the sanctions text and U.S. officials said they have not given up hope of a vote in the next two days.

"It is our intention to vote on the resolution this week," said Richard Grenell, spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has said he was looking for a vote to take place on Friday.

The resolution calls for more travel and financial restrictions on named Iranian individuals and companies and makes some restrictions mandatory. Two earlier sanctions rounds were approved unanimously in December 2006 and March 2007.

With the five permanent council members and six others backing the resolution it is bound to go through, but Western countries want as close to a 15-0 result as possible and are concerned about South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam and Libya.