The UN Security Council has rescheduled to Monday its vote on a draft resolution imposing further sanctions on Iran, a UN diplomat said Friday.
The vote, originally planned for Saturday, was delayed so that the cosponsors could have more time to discuss the text with some of the nonpermanent members, who have expressed obvious skepticism at more sanctions, said the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Through last-minute consultations, Britain and France, the two cosponsors, are trying to gain as much support as possible, said the diplomat.
Four nonpermanent members of the Security Council -- South Africa, Vietnam, Libya and Indonesia -- have expressed various concerns at more sanctions against Iran.
"We are yet to be convinced that more sanctions are the reasonable way to go at this time," said Indonesian UN Ambassador Marty Natalegawa after a council meeting on Thursday.
Natalegawa said that the sanctions might be detrimental to the current cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog.
Libya's UN Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi said Monday that his country may cast a negative vote on a draft that seeks further sanctions against Iran.
South Africa's ambassador to the IAEA, Abdul Minty, also expressed a similar concern Thursday, saying "it is important that we should not take any action in the United Nations Security Council or elsewhere which can create the risk that Iran reduces or even terminates its cooperation with the IAEA."
UN diplomats said that Vietnam has proposed amendments to the draft that would emphasis the role of the IAEA in resolving the Iranian nuclear issue.
It would be a third round of sanctions against Iran for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.
Since December 2006, the Security Council has passed two resolutions slapping sanctions against Iran. The United States and its European allies are pushing for a third one imposing further sanctions. Iran has insisted on the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.
A third resolution would include, among other things, travel restrictions and bans for more Iranians involved in Tehran's nuclear and missile programs and cargo inspections on aircraft and vessels.
(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2008)
