Alysha Sayall – Sept. 30, 2008
UN Approves New Iran Resolution (Article)
BBC News - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7640133.stm
Time – Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008
Place – United Nations, also regarding Iran
Key People
- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
- Russia’s UN representative, Vitaly Churkin
- Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili
Vocabulary
- IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency, UN’s nuclear “watchdog”
Main Ideas
The UN approves what they call a new Iran resolution – one that reinforces the Security Council’s demand that the country stop enriching Uranium, but also failing to establish any new sanctions. This draft, rather than a draft that would put greater restrictions on Iran, was the only one considered in large part because Russia stated that they would not support further sanctions. Already, the UN has imposed three groups of sanctions on Iran for failing to end its uranium enrichment and failing to cooperate in discussions with the IAEA. The resolution (1853) simple called upon Iran to “comply fully without delay” to the prior demands of the Security Council. Iran has stated they will not halt their Uranium program by insisting that their programs are for peaceful purposes.
Your Response to Article
While I went into this article expecting to find an actually “new” resolution regarding Iran, I found that the resolution was one to simply reinforce a previous one, a previous one that was not complied with. Especially considering Iran’s total lack of cooperation with the UN, I find that perhaps something more could have been done to place more pressure on the country. Many of Iran’s programs threaten not only our country, but our world, yet the UN seems completely helpless to stop them (and especially reading this article seemed to portray how truly helpless the UN can be). Simply because of Russia not approving of sanctions, nothing can be done to help the issue. If the Iranian government refused to comply with the first time this resolution was passes, I’m not sure why they would do so now, UNLESS the UN actually put a greater amount of pressure on them. I, however, feel that this is a situation that needs to be looked at and weighed, rather than observed and only verbally admonished, especially before it transforms into a nuclear war.
{ 2 } Comments
Well said, but here’s my question: Why would Russia, a continguous neighbor of Iran, block stronger sanctions?
I’m inclined to think that Russia, as Iran’s neighbor, would not want any sort of military conflict with the country, especially considering the nature of the sanctions: that they are based on Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Certainly these nuclear capabilities are a threat to all, including Russia, and because of Russia’s proximity they would not want to provoke them. But on the other hand, it seems strange that Russia would not want to ensure its safety by making sure that Iran cannot further develop nuclear weapons. Especially considering the size of Russia’s land mass, it doesn’t seem as though Iran would be a military threat so much as a nuclear one.
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