AFP, United Nations, June 28, 2010 – The UN Security Council met Monday on how to implement sanctions it adopted against Iran, hours after the Islamic Republic announced it would freeze nuclear talks for two months.
In a formal meeting, the 15-member council received a report on the implementation of all penalties approved against Iran and of a panel of experts to ensure states apply the punitive measures.
’When fully established, the panel will be our eyes and ears in the field,’ said US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, expressing hope the panel would be operational by the ’end of this summer.’
’The effectiveness of the Iran sanctions regime is primarily the responsibility of each and every UN member state.’
The Security Council slapped a fourth set of sanctions against Iran earlier this month for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment work, the most sensitive part of Tehran’s controversial atomic drive.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday he would postpone nuclear talks as a ’penalty’ to world powers as a result of the latest UN sanctions.
’We are postponing the talks because of the bad behavior and the adoption of the new resolution in the (UN) Security Council. This is a penalty, so that they (the world powers) are disciplined to learn the way of talking to other nations,’ Ahmadinejad said.
The hardline leader said Iran wanted more countries to be involved in talks over its nuclear program, and added that world powers must clarify the status of Israel’s alleged nuclear arsenal.
Western powers and Israel fear Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons under cover of a program Tehran insists is peaceful and for civilian energy purposes.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters that he discussed the Iran nuclear issue with European leaders during the G20 summit in Toronto at the weekend, ’encouraging them to continue these negotiations.’
’I will continue to urge the leaders of the world, the concerned parties to continue their negotiations for an eventual resolution of this issue,’ he added.
AFP,  Brussels, June 29, 2010  – Europe must follow through on its pledge to impose sanctions on Iran’s energy sector in order to coax Tehran back to the negotiating table over its nuclear activities, a top US diplomat said Tuesday.
Robert Einhorn, the US coordinator for Iran sanctions, said he held meetings in Brussels with European Union officials to discuss the measures being drafted after EU leaders agreed this month to impose new sanctions.
’What we hope is that stronger measures on the pressure side, on the sanctions side will give leaders in Iran strong incentives to come to the negotiating table and work with us on a solution to the nuclear issue,’ he told a press briefing.
’We very much welcome the declaration that was adopted on June 17 by the European Council. This was a strong statement of political intent to put in place effective measures that could raise the stakes for the Iranian regime.
’That was a political statement. Now the political statement needs to be translated into concrete, workable measures,’ he said at the end of a two-day visit to Brussels.
The EU sanctions approved at the June summit include a ban on new investment, technical assistance and technology transfers to Iran’s huge gas and oil industry, particularly for refining and liquefied natural gas.
’All of these categories are quite important,’ Einhorn said.
’We’re hoping for strong and detailed measures across the board,’ he said.
The details of the sanctions are set to be approved at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on July 26.
The UN Security Council imposed its fourth set of sanctions against Iran on June 9 for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment work, the most sensitive part of its atomic drive.
But the EU and the United States subsequently decided to impose their own sanctions on Iran’s energy sector in an effort to tighten the screws on the Islamic republic.
The United States, European Union powers and Israel suspect that Iran is seeking to build a nuclear bomb, but Tehran denies the charge, insisting that its programme is a peaceful drive to produce civilian energy.
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