Lack of unanimity was apparent over the draft UN Security Council resolution to impose a new round of sanctions against Iran with the Chinese Ambassador to the UN, Liu Zhenmin, telling reporters that the process of discussions for drafting of a formal sanctions resolution would take a few weeks. The US on its part wanted to move quickly on the resolution. While several European countries had indicated that they would like to move slowly on the resolution, South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo stated that his country would like to wait for the upcoming progress report by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, to be submitted in the third week of February1.

US President George Bush meanwhile in his State of the Union address before the US Congress accused Tehran of developing ballistic missiles of increasing range and that it continued to develop its capability to enrich uranium, “which could be used to create a nuclear weapon2.”

• 1. Louis Charbonneau, “Iran sanctions vote at U.N. seen weeks away,” Reuters, January 28, 2008, at http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnN28500038.html
• 2. “2008 State of the Union Address By President Bush,” January 28, 2008, at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/wh/rem/99783.htm