West talks tough on Iran
Security Council discusses Iran violations; US envoy: Tehran caught breaking rules repeatedly
For the first time, Iran's violations, including nabbed weapon transfers, were up for an open debate at the UN's Security Council Thursday, in the presence of ambassadors and not only professional teams.
The American, British, and French ambassadors made their comments following a sanctions committee report to the Security Council Thursday that found an "apparent pattern of sanctions violations involving prohibited arms transfers" over the past three months.
France's UN Ambassador Gerard Araud called for new sanctions to be drawn up immediately, while US Ambassador Susan Rice said the violations needed to be treated urgently but did not set a timetable for sanctions.
"Unfortunately, we have witnessed several significant developments on this critical issue over the past 90 days," the American ambassador said. "Iran has now been caught breaking the rules - repeatedly. In today's report, the Committee expressed its 'grave concern' about the apparent pattern of sanctions violations involving prohibited arms transfers from Iran."
However, ambassadors from Russia and China called for patience and further diplomacy.
AP contributed to the report
