“I think that the most important next step is that countries implement the sanctions and make sure that they follow through on that obligation,” spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters, after the Council slapped the third set of economic and trade sanctions on Iran in the past 15 months.
Iran on Tuesday dismissed the sanctions, imposed for its refusal to halt nuclear fuel work, as “worthless” and vowed to press on with the contested weapons drive.
Perino told reporters the administration did not find Tehran’s reaction surprising.
“I don’t think that we would expect anything else from Iran,” she said.
“The regime has continued to push back against a unanimous international community that is saying they should not be enriching uranium, they should not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.”
Fourteen of the Council’s 15 members voted Monday in favor of UN Resolution 1803, sponsored by Britain, France and Germany.
The vote came as six major powers offered to resume talks with the Islamic republic over its nuclear ambitions and end the standoff.
“We have provided several different incentives for the Iranian people, if the regime would just halt the enrichment of uranium and come to the table. They have chosen not to do that and so we were pleased yesterday to see that the UN Security Council went forward with a third round of sanctions,” Perino said.
After Monday’s vote, the six powers, which called for new talks between EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran’s nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, pledged to expand a 2006 offer of economic and trade incentives to Iran in exchange for a freeze of its uranium enrichment activities which the West fears is aimed at developing nuclear weapons.
