State Department official: New UN resolution against Iran 'punitive'

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council have agreed on a new, tough resolution against Iran because of its nuclear activity, a senior State Department official said Thursday after discussing the issue with Israelis. Nicholas Burns, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, headed the US team at a day of talks with Israelis in the framework of strategic cooperation. Briefing reporters in Jerusalem later, he said that the main topic was the Iranian nuclear program. He said the new resolution would be tabled Thursday or Friday, and there would be several weeks of discussion and debate before a vote. But with all five permanent members - the US, Britain, France, Russia and China - behind it, Burns said he was confident it would pass.