| UN Security Council report reveals Iran curbs’ violations |
UNITED NATIONS A UN Security Council committee has published a report on Iranian sanctions violations, including shipments of weapons to Syria in breach of a UN ban on weapons exports by the Islamic Republic.
The Security Council has imposed four rounds of sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its nuclear enrichment programme, which the United States, European Union and their allies suspect is at the heart of a weapons programme. Iran rejects the allegation and refuses to halt what it says is a peaceful energy programme. The report appeared on the committee website on Thursday, diplomats said on Friday. The report said that Syria remains the top destination for Iranian arms shipments.
Western diplomats said they were pleased the report was made public. Initially they said they feared Russia would block it as it did last year’s report on Iran, which has yet to be made public due to Russian objections.
Publication of the report, the diplomats said, will likely add to the pressure on Iran to comply with UN demands about curbing sensitive nuclear activities as major powers press ahead with negotiations with the Islamic Republic aimed at convincing it that defiance of international sanctions will be too costly.
The new report, submitted by a panel of sanctions-monitoring experts to the Security Council’s Iran sanctions committee, said the group investigated three large illegal shipments of Iranian weapons over the past year.
“Iran has continued to defy the international community through illegal arms shipments,” it stated.
Reuters
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