West Demands Tougher Action against Iran Arms to Syria, Hizbullah

The United States on Monday led western calls for tougher U.N. action on Iran's arms supplies to Syria and its Lebanese ally Hizbullah.

The calls came as Russia blocked a U.N. panel's unanimous ruling that a ballistic missile launch by Iran was a breach of international sanctions, diplomats said.

The U.S. government called on the U.N. Security Council and its sanctions committee to tackle Iran's alleged breach of U.N. measures with "increased vigor."

"The committee should also address the steady of flow of Iranian arms, military support, advisers and training to groups in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, Iraq and beyond," said U.S. acting ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo.

Iran has long supplied weapons to President Bashar Assad's government "knowing they would be used to massacre the Syrian people," DiCarlo told a Security Council meeting.

The seizure of Iranian arms off the Yemen coast in January "was more than just a sanctions violation, it was an aggressive act to undermine Yemen's transition," said the U.S. envoy.

The vessel was intercepted by the Yemeni coastguard in the Arabian Sea on January 23.

"This council must tackle with renewed urgency, Iranian military assistance to Hizbullah and other armed terrorist groups and should also consider the impact of Iran's actions on the sovereign rights of other countries especially Lebanon," she said.

Britain's U.N. ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said there was "credible information that Iran is providing substantial military and financial support to Hizbullah and the Syrian regime in contravention of the U.N. embargo on arms exports by Iran."

French political counsellor, Philippe Bertoux, also said that the council must "assume its responsibilities" over Iran's sanctions breaches.

Iran already faces widespread sanctions over its nuclear program and a U.N. panel of experts ruled in January that the firing of a Shahab ballistic missile by Iran in July last year was a breach of U.N. sanctions, diplomats said.

However, Russia, supported by China, blocked the usual consensus publication of the experts report, even though a Russian and a Chinese expert are on the panel, diplomats said.

Gary Quinlan, the Australian ambassador to the U.N. who chairs the Security Council's Iran sanctions committee, said only that "some members" do not back the experts view.

Britain's Lyall Grant said the Security Council should add individuals linked to the launches to U.N. sanctions lists. DiCarlo of the United States said the missile launch was a "clear violation" of U.N. resolution 1929.

Petr Ilyichev, a deputy U.N. ambassador for Russia, spoke only of a "possible violation." He did not confirm his country had held up the experts' report but said the sanctions committee decisions must be based on "reliable and verified information."

China's deputy U.N. ambassador Wang Min gave a similar message. China, he said, was "not in favor of increased pressure or new sanctions against Iran."

No Iranian representatives were at the meeting.