South Africa guts big power deal on Iran sanctions

By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - South Africa wants to drop all key U.N. sanctions proposals against Iran that were negotiated by major powers, including an arms embargo and financial bans on an Iranian state bank and the Revolutionary Guards.

While the draft could probably be adopted by the Security Council without South Africa's backing, the major powers had wanted passage to be unanimous, and include an important developing nation such as South Africa.

In a paper of "required amendments" sent to the 15 council members on Sunday and obtained by reporters on Monday, South Africa also called for all sanctions to be suspended for 90 days so another round of political negotiations could be held with Tehran.

Consequently, council diplomats, who had hoped for a vote on the draft resolution this week, said they did not expect one until next week. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to address the council on the day of the vote about how Iran's nuclear program is for generating electricity only.

The object of the resolution is to pressure Iran to halt uranium enrichment work, which can be used for peaceful purposes or to help make nuclear bombs.

Saying his country was "not window dressing" to big powers, South African U.N. Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, this month's council president, told reporters the draft "was not written by God."

He said South Africa's main objective was to limit sanctions to nuclear materials and technology and not expand them, as the draft does, into other areas.

The new proposed resolution is a follow-up to one adopted by the Security Council on December 23 that imposed trade sanctions on sensitive nuclear materials and technology and froze assets of key Iranian individuals, groups and businesses.