UNITED NATIONS, June 8 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council is set to vote on a new round of sanctions against Iraq over its nuclear program, officials say.
The fourth round of sanctions, due for a vote Wednesday, is a "very strong" one, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said, the Voice of America reported.
The Security Council president for the month of June, Mexican Ambassador Claude Heller, said the 15 council members held a private debate on Iran's nuclear program Tuesday in a final push before the vote, the report said.
The text of the sanctions resolution and its annexes targeting individuals and entities was put into final form Tuesday, the VOA said.
The sanctions include travel bans and financial restrictions against individuals and agencies believed to be involved in Iran's nuclear or ballistic missile activities, including agencies affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and warned any new sanctions could mean the end of talks on the issue, VOA said.
The New York Times said Tuesday several sanction provisions focus on the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, known as Irisl, which the United Nations determined has been involved in a plot to smuggle weapons, violating an international embargo that prohibits Iran from exporting arms.
U.S. officials involved in the drafting of the U.N. sanctions say the actions take into account Irisl's practices concerning ship ownership. Of the 123 Irisl ships blacklisted by the United States, only 46 are clearly owned by Irisl or its listed subsidiaries. The remaining 73 ships are on record as owned and operated by companies not on the blacklist. However, a Times review of records and interviews showed strong links between the ships' new registered owners and Irisl in all but 10 instances.
The proposed sanctions expand a 2008 U.N. provision calling for Irisl ships to be boarded and inspected if officials have "reasonable grounds to believe" the vessels are carrying contraband forbidden by resolutions on Iran. Among other things, the new proposal would call for inspections of all such ships, whether Irisl is the listed owner or not.
