S/PV.5853 Security Council

This is my fifth 90-day report to the Security Council, which I am delivering in accordance with paragraph 18 of resolution 1737 (2006). The report covers the period 19 December 2007 to 17 March 2008, during which the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1737 (2006) held no session of informal consultations, but carried out its work outside the meeting room. As members are aware, paragraph 5 of resolution 1737 (2006) stipulates that States shall notify the Committee of the supply, sale or transfer of all items, materials, equipment, goods and technology covered by documents S/2006/814 and S/2006/815, the export of which to the Islamic Republic of Iran is not prohibited by subparagraphs 3 (b), 3 (c) or 4 (a) of the resolution. During the reporting period, the Committee received three notifications from a Member State with reference to that paragraph. All three notifications related to the construction of the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Iran. Paragraph 15 of resolution 1737 (2006) provides for notifications by relevant States to the Committee of the intention to make or receive payments or to authorize the unfreezing of funds in connection with contracts entered into prior to the listing of persons and entities in the annexes to resolutions 1737 (2006) and 1747 (2007). The Committee received two such notifications. Paragraph 19 of resolution 1737 and paragraph 8 of resolution 1747 (2007) concern the submission by all States of reports to the Committee on the implementation of those two resolutions. Since I last briefed the Council, the Committee has received one additional report under both resolutions, bringing the total number of reports under resolution 1737 (2006) to 88 and the total number of reports under resolution 1747 (2007) to 72. During the reporting period, the Committee received and responded to two written queries from Member States requesting clarification on certain aspects of the sanctions regime imposed by resolutions 1737 (2006) and 1747 (2007). Finally, the Committee issued its annual report for 2007 (S/2007/780) in accordance with the note by the President of the Security Council of 29 March 1995 (S/1995/234). Before concluding, let me note that, just two weeks ago, by its resolution 1803 (2008) of 3 March, the Security Council adopted additional measures relating to Iran. These measures include broadening the scope of the proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities and nuclear weapons delivery systems-related embargo; extension of the assets freeze to individuals and entities listed in annexes I and III of the resolution and expansion of the scope of that measure; introduction of a travel ban on individuals listed in annex II of the resolution as well as on any additional persons designated by the Security Council or the Committee; and, finally, extension of the travel notification requirement to individuals listed in annex I of the resolution as well as to any additional persons designated by the Security Council or the Committee. In addition, the Council called upon all States to exercise vigilance in the areas of public provided financial support for trade with Iran and of banking with Iran, and, in accordance with States’ national legal authorities and legislation and consistent with international law, in particular the law of the sea and relevant civil aviation agreements, to inspect the cargoes to and from Iran of aircraft and vessels, at their airports and seaports, owned or operated by two Iranian companies, provided that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the aircraft or vessel was transporting goods prohibited under resolutions 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007) or 1803 (2008). In cases when the aforementioned inspection of cargoes is undertaken, the Council requires all States to submit to it within five working days a written report on the inspection. I note paragraph 14 of resolution 1803 (2008) in particular, since it broadens the scope of the Committee’s mandate as set out in paragraph 18 of resolution 1737 (2006), to also include the measures imposed in resolutions 1747 (2007) and 1803 (2008). I wish to assure the Council that the Committee will continue to discharge its expanded mandate carefully and will, in this context, remind all Member States of the expectations of the Council regarding national reporting on the implementation measures under the three resolutions. The members of the Committee will be meeting in informal consultations tomorrow, with a view to considering adapting the guidelines to the newly adopted resolution 1803 (2008) and to address other questions in that regard.

I now give the floor to members of the Council who wish to make statements.

The United States delegation wishes to express our appreciation for Ambassador Verbeke’s continued leadership as the Chairman of the Security Council’s Iran sanctions Committee and for his report to the Council today. Mr. Verbeke’s efforts have been essential in the Committee’s execution of its mandate, particularly in encouraging States to submit reports detailing their efforts to implement the Chapter VII sanctions imposed by the Council on Iran in resolutions 1737 (2006) and 1747 (2007). While the number of reports received continues to rise, many remain outstanding. We urge all States that have not yet submitted their implementation reports to the Committee to do so as soon as possible. Resolution 1803 (2008), adopted two weeks ago, includes a similar reporting request, and we encourage all States to submit reports detailing their efforts to implement it. The Council adopted resolution 1803 (2008) because Iran’s violations of Council resolutions not only have continued, but are deepening. As the most recent report of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mr. ElBaradei, of 22 February 2008, made clear, Iran is continuing with enrichment- and heavy water-related activities, is dramatically expanding the number of operating centrifuges and has even begun developing a new generation of centrifuges, testing one of them with nuclear fuel. Moreover, Director General ElBaradei’s report, the IAEA secretariat’s technical briefing on 25 February and the IAEA Board of Governors meeting on 5 March presented troubling indications of Iran’s weaponization efforts. We stand firmly behind the IAEA requirement that Iran must fully disclose any weapons-related work and facilitate IAEA verification that all such work has ceased. The international community has good reason to be concerned about Iran’s activities to acquire nuclear weapons capability. At stake is the security of a vital region of the world and the credibility of the Security Council and the IAEA. The Council has made clear its sincere intention to resolve this issue diplomatically. That is a goal that the United States strongly shares. Absent Iranian cooperation, however, we must continue to implement each of the Security Council’s decisions and pursue our dual-track strategy of increasing pressure on Iran while offering a path to negotiations. Our delegation looks forward to continuing to work with others here to execute the Committee’s mandate to ensure the most robust and comprehensive implementation possible of these resolutions, and we call on Iran to engage in constructive negotiations over the future of its nuclear programme. Such negotiations, if successful, would have profound benefits for Iran and the Iranian people.

I will be brief. First of all, I wish to thank my neighbour at the Council table and my friend, Johan Verbeke, for having presented the 90-day report of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1737 (2006), which he has delivered in the clearest possible manner. In its capacity as a Vice-Chairman of that important Committee, my delegation of course assures him of our fullest cooperation. We have noted certain points from his statement upon which we would like to comment. We should like to comment on the preparation of national reports, clarification requests by Member States and the Committee’s taking into account of resolution 1803 (2008). With regard to national reporting on implementation of resolutions 1737 (2006) and 1747 (2007), we note that work remains to be done. We believe that the Committee should consider creating frameworks for writing such reports to assist Member States. Such frameworks could, for example, take the form of questionnaires. That would facilitate diligent reporting by Member States, in accordance with paragraph 19 of resolution 1737 (2006) and paragraph 8 of resolution 1747 (2007), and would make it easier for the Committee to use the reports. Concerning requests for clarification about certain aspects of the sanctions regime against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the 1737 Committee should, to the extent possible and within the framework of its mandate, have a proactive information strategy regarding the experience it has gained. That would mean providing States with the answers to questions repeatedly asked in clarification requests. In our view, such a strategy would make it possible to raise States’ awareness about effective sanctions implementation. As regards resolution 1803 (2008), adopted by the Security Council on 3 March 2008, we believe it is important that the Committee take into account the additional competences entrusted to it by that new resolution. We welcome the changes that the Committee plans to make to its guidelines to adapt them to the resolution.

There are no further speakers inscribed on my list. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.