France sees majority on UNSC for Iran sanctions: Kouchner

AFP: France expects a majority on the UN Security Council to vote for new sanctions against Iran, with only three of 15 members still reticent, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Thursday.

PARIS, May 20, 2010 (AFP) – France expects a majority on the UN Security Council to vote for new sanctions against Iran, with only three of 15 members still reticent, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Thursday.

“Three countries will have some reservations, but we’ll see. The text isn’t definitive, it will be discussed by the non-permanent members of the Security Council,” said Kouchner after meeting his Danish counterpart Lene Espersen.

If none of the five permanent members of the council impose a veto, and diplomats report they have approved the text, then a majority of the 15-strong committee is all that is needed for sanctions to come into effect.

“I think that the text will be approved. I can’t be certain, nobody can be certain,” Kouchner told a small group of reporters.

Diplomats said the three council members with reservations were Brazil and Turkey, which on Monday co-signed a nuclear deal with Tehran, and Lebanon, whose government includes members of the pro-Iranian party Hezbollah.