The United Nations had issued a warning to Iran about the Iranian nuclear weapons program:
The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution today that gives Iran until Aug. 31 to suspend its uranium enrichment and nuclear fuel reprocessing activities or face possible economic sanctions.
The resolution, which passed by a vote of 14-1, was weaker than the threat of immediate sanctions originally sought by the United States and its Western allies. But it marks the first time that the Security Council has made legally binding demands on Iran, with a threat to consider sanctions, regarding its nuclear program.
The lone vote against the resolution was cast by Qatar, a sheikhdom that lies across the Persian Gulf from Iran and represents Arab nations on the Security Council.
Russia and China insisted on softening the text of the resolution from a draft backed by the United States and its allies, news agencies reported. The result is that more Security Council discussions would be required before the body could go ahead with sanctions.
The resolution demands that Iran “suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development.” If Iran does not comply by Aug. 31, the Security Council would consider taking “appropriate measures” under a section of the U.N. Charter that allows the imposition of economic and diplomatic sanctions to deal with threats to international peace.
Whether this will be followed up with anything significant when Iran refuses to back down, which they will, remains to be seen. Given the resistance of China and Russia, it seems unlikely that the United Nations will follow through with anything significant.
