UN Council expected to endorse Iran resolution Monday

The UN Security Council is expected to endorse a historic deal curtailing Iran's nuclear program on Monday, diplomats said.

The 10-year agreement struck in Vienna this week calls for a lifting of the sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy in exchange for measures to ensure Iran does not build nuclear weapons.

The resolution should pass with little difficulty, diplomats said Thursday, since the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- were among those countries which negotiated the accord.

The new resolution would also replace the existing framework of seven sets of Security Council sanctions imposed since 2006 on Iran, enshrining a new set of restrictions.

But a UN embargo on conventional arms sales and exports is to stay in place for five years, while trade in ballistic missiles capable of being armed with a nuclear warhead will remain for eight years.

The draft text was put forward by the US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power during closed door talks on Wednesday.

The deal also sets out a so-called "snapback" mechanism to put the old sanctions back in place. It establishes a joint commission which would examine any complaints if world powers feel Iran has not met its commitments under the Vienna deal.

The text of the draft resolution "endorses" the Vienna agreement and "urges its full implementation on the timetable established" under the agreement.

The text also "requests the director of (the International Atomic Energy Agency) IAEA to undertake the necessary verification and monitoring of Iran's nuclear commitments."

Once the council receives the IAEA's report on compliance, the seven sets of Security Council sanctions can be repealed.

Under the Vienna agreement the United States and European Union will gradually lift the sanctions they have placed on Iran as well.

The Security Council vote is scheduled for 9 am (1300 GMT).
Source: AFP