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Ahmadinejad cancels U.N. Security Council visit

by Open-Publishing - Saturday 24 March 2007
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International Governments

Ahmadinejad cancels U.N. Security Council visit

CNN – March 23, 2007

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has canceled a planned visit to the United Nations, and Tehran’s U.N. ambassador, Javad Zarif, on Friday blamed a delay in U.S. visas being issued to the crew of his airplane.

Ahmadinejad wanted to speak to the U.N. Security Council before a vote, scheduled for Saturday, on sanctions against Iran.

Iran, which contends the proposed sanctions are politically motivated, says it will still try to get high-level representation to the U.N. — most likely the foreign minister.

The planned vote comes after the U.N.’s atomic energy watchdog agency said last month it could not verify that Iran’s uranium enrichment program was strictly for peaceful purposes, as Iran has said. Western nations, including the United States, contend Iran is using the program to develop nuclear weapons.

The five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany agreed on a resolution to expand sanctions on Iran and presented it to the council last week, but several nations said they wanted to amend it.

Alejandro Wolfe, the acting U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Thursday that some amendments were agreed to, but he offered no details about those.

"We embraced amendments that were consistent with the philosophy of this resolution ... and those that would enhance its clarity and enhance its value," he said.

Also Thursday, Dumisani Kumalo, the U.N. ambassador from South Africa, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month, said he felt steamrollered into a Saturday vote on the resolution.

"I feel like I was misled," he said, adding that he had been led to believe that he would have more time to consider the resolution.

But French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere rebutted Kumalo’s comments, saying discussions have gone on for some time.

"And we have the whole day tomorrow to discuss it," he said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/03/23/iran.nuclear/

Last updated 23/03/2007

Forum posts

  • The sooner that this crazy regime is brought down the sooner the world will be in peace , from their support of violence in Lebanon, Palestine & Iraq to their idea of making a nuclear bomb , the world will be in a much better state & the people of Persia will then be able to join the other peace-loving people of the wider world.
    Please god it will not be long.

    • Which crazy regime are you refering to?

    • I think s/he’s been duped by all the vicious Bush propaganda on Iran. "Making a nuclear bomb"? Where’s the evidence? You won’t get it from the IAEA!

    • The crazy regime which organises ’Death to America’ rallies every friday . the regime which used children to walk over minefields , the regime which allowed embassy’s to be taken over , the crazy crazy regime which believes it can take on the US & survive.

    • Alot of times though when an aggressor Like the Bush/Cheney Fascists invade a neighboring country based on pure LIES (like Hitler did), and murders HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of it’s NON-COMBATANT INNOCENT Citizens and poisons MILLIONS more with depleted uranium, and forces them to use it’s currency, and destroys all of it’s infrastructure so GREEDY Corporations can suck out it’s meager wealth, it’s possible even likely bad feelings may arise among the invaded populations neighbors, thinking they might be next. If China were some day to invade here based on LIES, and did likewise it’s VERY possible you might find me at a "DEATH to CHina rally" also, along with MILLIONS of my HONESTLY patriotic friends.