Israel Matzav

Another month and still no sanctions

Also on Tuesday, Gabon's UN envoy said that the UN Security Council might take up this month the issue of Iran's nuclear program and Western proposals for a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran.

Ambassador Emanuel Issoze-Ngondet, who is president of the Security Council for the month of March, said the Iranian nuclear issue was not on the agenda of the 15-nation panel this month, but council members might still hold a meeting on it.

"We think the question could come to the table [in March]," Issoze-Ngondet told reporters through an interpreter. "But right now we are waiting. We're following the process that's ongoing. We're waiting for the right time to bring the Security Council to deal with it."

Speaking on condition of anonymity, Western diplomats told Reuters the United States, Britain, France and Germany have prepared a draft proposal -- which they hope China and Russia will support - for a fourth round of sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment program.

The four Western powers had hoped to secure an agreement among the six as early as this week, so they could submit it to the full Security Council for discussion. But it has been difficult getting China to negotiate, the diplomats said.

"We still don't know what China thinks," a diplomat told Reuters.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:33 AM