UNITED NATIONS, June 21 (KUNA) -- Security Council President Johan Verbeke of Belgium on Thursday reminded Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that council members committed themselves in resolution 1747 to tighten sanctions against Iran if it failed to comply with IAEA and council requirements to halt uranium enrichment activities.
Verbeke recalled that the council received on May 23 the report by IAEA Chief Mohammed Elbaradei "informing us about the non compliance by Iran of the requirements put forward by the IAEA and the council. We are seized of that report and we will take it up whenever it suits the members of the council." "At this stage," he said in answer to questions by reporters, "we have not given active consideration yet to the report but we continue to be concerned about the information contained in the report and we certainly have to take it up as it is said explicitly in resolution 1747: that in the light of the upcoming report (May 23) we will have to address the issue again." Verbeke said "you have to look back at both resolutions 1737 and 1747 where it is stated that should Iran not comply with the requirements of the international community the council has to give it new consideration and that's what we will be doing in the next few weeks." Verbeke was responding to Lavrov who told a press conference in Tehran yesterday Russia will back new sanctions against Iran only if the U.N. atomic watchdog says efforts to clear up questions about Tehran's nuclear programme have been exhausted.
Lavrov was in Tehran attending a meeting of foreign ministers of Caspian Sea littoral states.
The council imposed in resolution 1747 additional measures including a ban on the export of arms and related material from Iran, the designation of additional persons as subject to the assets freeze and to the travel measures.
Verbeke briefed the council earlier in the day in his capacity as chairman of the sanctions committee against Iran which was created in resolution 1737.
He said the committee received 10 notifications of the unfreezing of assets or receipt of payment in connection with contracts entered into force prior to the listing of certain entities.
The committee, he added, also granted six exemptions to the assets freeze to cover basis expenses, and three exemptions to the assets freeze to cover "extraordinary expenses of listed entities.
Finally, he said, the committee received a notification concerning the travel of a listed individual.
He did not disclose any countries or names involved in these exemptions.
He said that so far only 73 countries reported to him on the measures taken by their governments to comply with both resolutions. He urged those countries that have not done so report to him as soon as possible.
-- In a related matter the Russian Mission to the UN circulated today a note verbale it had sent to Verbeke last month stating that an Iranian individual, it did not name, whose name is on the sanctions list, visited Russia.
The Mission also stated that a Russian company intends to receive payment from an Iranian contractor included in the list of sanctions for the delivery of unrestricted goods under the terms of a contract concluded before the adoption of resolution 1747.
"We continue to believe that resolutions 1737 and 1747 are aimed mainly at bringing about a political solution to the issue of the nuclear programme of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In this respect, Russian officials will continue on a bilateral basis and in collaboration with other partners to actively work with the Iranian party towards its meeting the requirements of the Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency," the note verbale said. (pickup previous) sj.bs KUNA 212118 Jun 07NNNN