Security Council

5702^nd Meeting (AM)

CHAIR OF COMMITTEE MONITORING IRAN SANCTIONS BRIEFS SECURITY COUNCIL,

SAYS 73 MEMBER STATES HAVE REPORTED ON IMPLEMENTATION

 

A total of 73 Member States had reported so far on their implementation of sanctions on Iran imposed in relation to its nuclear activities, the Chairman of the Committee that monitors those measures told the Security Council this morning.

Johan Verbeke (Belgium), Chairman of the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1737 (2006), said that, in the past 90 days, 38 States had indicated that they already had legislation in place that dealt with implementation of the resolution, which included an asset freeze and travel measures.  The subsequent resolution 1747, of 24 March 2007, designated additional individuals and groups subject to the asset freeze and travel restraints, and added a ban on the export of arms and related material from Iran.

Fifty of the States that had so far responded to the reporting requirements had done so in the 90 days since his last report and the adoption of resolution 1747, he said.  All States that had submitted reports assured the Committee of their commitment to implementing the two resolutions.

During the reporting period, Mr. Verbeke said, the main focus of the Committee had been establishment of guidelines for the Committee’s work, which had been adopted on 30 May 2007.  It had also dealt with notifications and requests for exemptions from the assets freeze and the travel restraints in special circumstances.

Following Mr. Verbeke’s briefing, the representative of the United States said she was pleased to hear that so many States had submitted timely and substantive reports on implementation of the resolutions.  But, while some of the reports had been informative in their scope, others had not provided sufficient detailed steps taken to enforce or enact laws to implement the resolutions.  She also encouraged States to close out quickly any existing legitimate contracts with designated individuals and entities as mandated by the assets freeze requirements under resolution 1737.

She went on to stress that, unfortunately, 90 days had passed and Iran had not complied with either of the relevant resolutions.  In fact, Mohammed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in his 23 May report to the IAEA Board of Governors and the Council, had confirmed that Iran had failed to suspend its uranium enrichment and heavy-water-related activities and to cooperate fully with IAEA in it is ongoing investigation.

“We continue to urge all Member States to stress to Iran the importance of its compliance with its obligations in their regular discussions and consultations with Iran, and the benefits that will accrue to Iran in return for compliance,” she said.  She reiterated that the generous package offered to Iran in June 2006 by the “P-5+1” remained on the table.  That package and the historic offer extended by the United States to engage in direct talks with Iran, alongside P-5+1 partners, should Iran suspend enrichment, represented the best path towards a diplomatic solution.  She expressed hope that the Iranian regime would change what she called its confrontational course, suspend its proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities and engage in constructive negotiations on the future of its nuclear programme.

The meeting convened at 10:10 a.m. and adjourned at 10:30 a.m.

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For information media • not an official record