Major powers agree Iran sanctions

Six major powers announced an agreement yesterday to impose new UN sanctions on Iran for its nuclear programme, but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed the initiative would not sway his country.

The sanctions measure was sent to the 15-nation UN Security Council for an anticipated vote next week. It would penalise Tehran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, which can be used in nuclear bombs or for peaceful ends.

Iran says it seeks only to produce electricity, and Mr Ahmadinejad denounced any new UN sanctions resolution.

"Issuing such torn pieces of paper... will not have an impact on (the) Iranian nation's will," he told a rally in central Iran, according to the official news agency, IRNA.

Britain's UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry announced the agreement after consultations with his counterparts from the United States, France, Russia, China and Germany. US deputy UN ambassador Alejandro Wolff said the text was not perfect but that "I'm satisfied with the compromise outcome."

The proposed Security Council resolution includes a ban on Iranian arms exports, an assets freeze on individuals and firms involved in Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and a call for nations and institutions to bar new grants or loans except for "humanitarian and developmental" purposes.

A copy of the document was obtained by Reuters. A key element of the agreement is an expanded list of individuals and entities subject to financial restrictions, such as firms owned by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corp. and the state-owned Bank Sepah.

China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya, who had been critical of the list, noted that Security Council members could still make changes to the draft. Asked if Beijing was happy with the draft, Wang said, "As the text stands, yes."

Lower-level diplomats were set to meet late yesterday to begin reviewing the text.

French Prime Minister Dominique Villepin said that if Iran suspended its enrichment work, it would receive a strong economic incentive package, drawn by Europeans last year.

"Iran today knows and the people of Iran today know that they have a choice," Mr Villepin told reporters during a UN visit.

The new measures follow aresolution adopted in December, that imposed trade sanctions on Iran's sensitive nuclear materials and technology, and froze the assets of some Iranian individuals and companies. Iran ignored a February 21 deadline to suspend enrichment or face further action.