U.N. Security Council nears vote on Iran resolution

March 23, 2007
CNN
Original Source: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/03/23/iran.nuclear/index.html

The U.N. Security Council will vote Saturday on a new sanctions resolution on Iran, Britain's ambassador to the United Nations, Emyr Jones-Parry, said Thursday.
The five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany came to an agreement on the resolution and presented it to the council last week, but several nations said they wanted to add amendments to it.
The acting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Alejandro Wolfe, said some amendments were agreed to, but he offered no details about those.
We embraced amendments that were consistent with the philosophy of this resolution ... and those that would enhance its clarity and enhance its value, he said.
Later on Thursday, Dumisani Kumalo, the Ambassador from South Africa, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month, said he felt steamrollered into voting on the resolution on Saturday.
I feel like I was misled, he said, adding that he had been led to believe that he would have more time to consider the resolution.
But French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere rebutted Kumalo's comments, saying discussions have gone on for some time.
And we have the whole day tomorrow to discuss it, he said.
The new resolution comes after the U.N.'s atomic energy watchdog agency said last month it could not verify that Iran's uranium enrichment program was strictly for peaceful purposes, as Iran has said. Western nations, including the United States, believe Iran is using its uranium enrichment program to develop nuclear weapons.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has asked to speak to the Council ahead of a vote, and he has been granted a visa to travel to New York, but it was not clear when he might arrive for such a speech. Previously, the Iranian government said it would wait until a vote was scheduled before making travel arrangements.