Iran situation 

After several months of prolonged negotiations, the 15 members of the UN Security Council collectively passed a resolution which limits Iran?s trade in material and technology that it could use to create a nuclear weapon. UN Resolution 1737 prohibits the sale of any materials to Iran that could be used in their "enrichment related, reprocessing or heavy water related activities". It also imposes restrictions on the movements of twenty-two people or entities involved in the nuclear program. The resolution froze the assets of 10 Iranian companies and 12 individuals related to those programs. This is arguably the first time in history of the Security Council that an entire nation is being punished based not on actual violations of international law, but on pure speculation on the part of some powerful countries, regarding its hypothetical future conduct. 

Iran?s stand on the sanction:

Iran from the start denied that it seeks to build atomic weapons, saying its nuclear program is limited for generating electricity; it opposes the idea of obtaining nuclear weapons and wants to use nuclear technology under the framework of the Nonproliferation Treaty as the same technology used for producing fuel for nuclear power can be used for producing fuel for a nuclear explosion. 

Iran feels the imposition of sanctions is rather ill-advised and unhelpful to peaceful dialogue. Iran said, this action not only take away Iranians? inalienable rights enjoyed by all other nations, but also exposes the irresponsible way in which the international body is being used as a tool to satisfy militant warmongers in US and the West. Iran's top nuclear envoy, however, warned that Tehran's commitment to the peaceful use of nuclear technology will change if the country is threatened in any way or the other.

Iranian President Ahmadinejad said that sanctions won't stop Iran from enriching uranium.  

Territory full of disputes:

Western powers fear that Iran secretly wants to develop either a nuclear bomb or the ability to make one, even if it has not decided to build one at the moment. So from stopping Iran from any enrichment now is a step to the idea ?precaution is better than cure?. History of the Middle East is fearful and precaution is well justified as several countries in the territory have international dispute at the highest level. Iran openly criticized Israel?s activities and in some cases threatened it with military actions.  

Affects of the sanctions:

Iran now cannot get letters of credit for trade and therefore has had to forego work on most oil and gas development projects. Banks UBS and Credit Suisse have retreated from involvement in Iran while European financial institutions like ABN Amro, HSBC and Standard Chartered had halted new loans and investments. Japan pulled out it?s involvement of the Azadegan oil field and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation halted new financing of projects until Iran suspended enrichment. 

Date back:

International Atomic Energy Agency reported in 2003 that Iran is hiding a uranium enrichment programme for last 18 years. Members of the IAEA then called on Iran to commit it to stopping all enrichment activities permanently, but Iran refused to do so. The conflict escalated in February 2006, when the IAEA reported Iran to the Security Council. Tehran later defied the council by ignoring a 31 August deadline to halt enrichment as a precondition to negotiations. The IAEA later reported that Iran had started a new round of uranium enrichment just days before the UN deadline. 

Diplomatic stand in favor of Iran:

China, a close ally of Iran asked Tehran to give a "serious response" to the UN Security Council resolution that imposed sanctions for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. Chinese leader Hu added that "China continues to believe the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved through diplomatic negotiation."

State-owned China National Petroleum Corp. announced recently that it will invest $3.6 billion in Iran's South Pars gas field despite US pressure for China to cancel the deal. The US views the planned investment by the Chinese state-run company as sending the wrong signal to Tehran but China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Liu Jianchao, said China has every right to do business with Iran, and the US has no right to comment on the two countries' dealings.

Russia, hungry for energy to feed its booming economy, has close relations with Iran, and has called for diplomacy rather than confrontation to resolve the nuclear dispute. 

Venezuela expanded its cooperation with Iran to create an anti-US strategic alliance and signed 11 new bilateral agreements and pledged to boost the price of oil.

The United Arab Emirates has reassured Iran that it will not allow the United States to use its territory to spy on the Islamic Republic as Tehran faces mounting pressure over its atomic programme.

The West says that Iran cannot be trusted because it long secreted an enrichment programme and the sanctions were inevitable as Iran acted aggressively rather than working for peaceful solutions. Resolution 1737 however only allows for economic sanctions but not the use of military force. Countries that have strategic long-term relationships will Iran will not change their strategic relationships because of tactical issues. It has to be understood by both the parties that sanctions and aggressive stand in favor of enriching uranium can not destroy ?non-existent nukes? or ?fictitious weapons programs?, but they can destroy peace of the region.

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