Press Association: Diplomats are meeting in Britain to discuss possible restrictions on trade and arms for Iran amid calls for it to suspend its nuclear programme. Press Association
Diplomats are meeting in Britain to discuss possible restrictions on trade and arms for Iran amid calls for it to suspend its nuclear programme.
Diplomats from the five permanent UN Security Council members – Britain, Russia, China, US and France – and Germany are meeting at the Foreign Office in London.
They will discuss how to respond to Iran’s failure to respect a UN deadline to halt its uranium enrichment work.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog agency confirmed on Thursday that Iran had ignored an ultimatum by the UN’s Security Council to freeze enrichment – a possible pathway to nuclear arms – and had instead expanded its programme.
The Security Council adopted limited economic sanctions against Iran in December.
The December 23 resolution ordered all countries to stop supplying Iran with materials and technology that could contribute to its nuclear and missile programmes and to freeze assets of 10 key Iranian companies and 12 individuals related to those programmes.
Besides a wider arms embargo and new economic penalties, tougher measures could include a mandatory travel ban against certain individuals and imposing sanctions on more individuals and companies.
Russia and China, which both have strong commercial ties to Iran, forced other council nations – the US, Britain and France – to drop a travel ban and other tougher measures from the December resolution.
