By Bridget Johnson, your guide to Journalism

I sat down with Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad back in December when the U.S. Mission to the United Nations was preparing the draft resolution for this third round of sanctions against Iran over its refusal to dismantle its nuclear program. Between noshes of a chicken sandwich, Khalilzad talked about the seemingly never-ending effort to rein in Iran, stymied by Security Council veto-wielders Russia and China.

“The key part of developing nuclear weapons is the ability to have material that’s usable in a bomb,” Khalilzad said, in the wake of the release of the National Intelligence Estimate. “They are working now on an enrichment plan to produce uranium and they’re also working on reprocessing and on heavy water. They have been asked by the international community, U.N. Security Council to suspend those activities. Nothing with regard to what the NIE states.

“We need to continue with pressure and engagement to change their behavior with regard to enrichment,” he said.

Today the Security Council passed the third set of resolutions — directed at people, companies, and equipment that could be used the nuclear program — on a 14-0 vote, with Indonesia abstaining. More from the Associated Press:

“Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Khazee said just before Monday’s vote that his government would not comply with what he called ‘unlawful action’ against Iran’s ‘peaceful nuclear program.’ He said the Security Council was being ‘downgraded to a mere tool of the national foreign policy of just a few countries.’


‘Iran cannot and will not accept a requirement which is legally defective and politically coercive,’ Khazee said. ‘History tells us that no amount of pressure, intimidation and threat will be able to coerce our nation to give up its basic and legal rights.’


The six nations at the forefront of efforts to ensure Iran does not develop an atomic weapon program — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — said the resolution sends ‘a strong message of international resolve’ about ‘the proliferation risks of its nuclear program.’”

Details from the United Nations:

“The CouncilÂ’s five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – and Germany (currently not a Council member) also said they were willing to develop ‘all-round relations and wider cooperation with Iran,’ starting with direct talks and negotiations, if it was willing to suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities.


Member States are called on to inspect cargo entering or leaving Iran reasonably suspected of transporting goods prohibited as part of any one of the three Council resolutions on this issue, and then to report to the Council on the details of those inspections.


In addition, the resolution bans the trade and supply of ‘dual-use’ items, materials and technologies that can be adapted for military as well as civilian purposes.


Travel bans have been imposed on an extra five Iranian officials and 12 Iranian companies face having their assets frozen, while all States are asked to step up their monitoring of financial institutions in their territories that have dealings with banks based in Iran, particularly Bank Melli and Bank Saderat.


If Iran does not comply with the resolution, and with the earlier two resolutions imposing sanctions, Council members reserved the right to take further steps to pressure Tehran to comply.”

Iran has long insisted that it’s program is for needed nuclear energy, despite its wealth of oil reserves, but the regime’s saber-rattling against Israel and the U.S. have long heightened concerns that their nuclear ambitions were for nefarious purposes.

(ABOVE: Members of an Iranian opposition group protest against Iran’s nuclear activities outside the Foreign Ministry on Jan. 22 in Berlin. Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)