Deal Reached on U.N. Sanctions Vs. Iran

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures during a visit to the 'Cuba Libre' neighborhood in Managua, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2007. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) (Esteban Felix - AP)

Iran, however, responded by accelerating its enrichment program.

The proposed new measures would freeze the assets of 15 additional individuals and 13 additional organizations and companies, according to a list in the annex to the draft resolution.

Seven of the individuals are members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and three of the organizations are affiliated with the elite military corps, which oversees vital Iranian interests, including oil and natural gas installations and the nation's missile arsenal, according to the annex.

Wolff had said the issue of the Revolutionary Guard was one of "the trickiest" in drafting the resolution. Russia had raised concerns that mentioning the elite group would amount to censuring the entire institution, so the proposed annex singles out specific companies and individuals.

The list includes the Revolutionary Guard's Deputy Commander Brig. Gen. Morteza; the chief of the joint staff, Vice Adm. Ali Akbar Ahmadian; ground forces commander Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi and four other top officers.

Under the draft, Iran would be banned from supplying, selling or transferring "any arms or related material," and all countries would be prohibited from buying Iranian weapons.

The proposed resolution does not ban Iran from importing arms, but calls on all nations "to exercise vigilance and restraint" in supplying tanks, combat aircraft and other heavy weapons.

Experts said the export ban would do little to stop any illegal Iranian arms deliveries to militant groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon.

"If we look at illegal exports, like to Hezbollah, there is no way we can control it," said Mustafa Alani, a military analyst with the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center.

Iran's arms exports to foreign governments may not immediately be affected if the sanctions are not applied to existing contracts. Iran says it sells weapons to dozens of countries in the developing world.

The draft resolution also calls on all governments and financial institutions not to make any new commitments "of grants, financial assistance, or concessional loans" to the Iranian government.

There is no travel ban, but all countries would be asked to be vigilant on the entry or transit through their territory of the individuals whose assets have been frozen. The draft would also require all countries to report the transit or entry of any of these people to the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against Iran.

The draft resolution "underlines the willingness of the international community to work positively" for a diplomatic solution.

It asks IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei to report to the council in 60 days on whether Iran has suspended its enrichment activities.

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Associated Press Writer Sarah DiLorenzo at the United Nations and Sebastian Abbot in Cairo, Egypt, contributed to this report.