Georgetown has taken note of fresh sanctions instituted by the United Nations (UN) Security Council against Iran, in light of negotiations between the two countries on the mapping of Guyana’s mineral resources.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds in a brief interview with Stabroek News yesterday said that the fourth round of sanctions which was voted by the UN against Iran earlier this week has been noted by the government.

Following a visit to the Middle East earlier this year, President Bharrat Jagdeo announced that he had held meetings with the Iranian authorities and several initiatives had been discussed between the two nations, including plans for the Islamic Republic to map the mineral potential of Guyana. During a media briefing following his trip, the President stated that Iran would have sent a team to work with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to map mineral wealth here.

According to the Prime Minister, the mapping plans are on-going, the most recent development being a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was signed between officials of both parties regarding the mapping agreement recently.

According to President Jagdeo, Iran had also agreed to assist in the development of the health and agricultural sectors here, plans which had raised concerns among the populace, including the opposition PNCR whose member Aubrey Norton stated during the 2010 Budget debate that the PNCR-1G believes every state has the right to choose its friends. Norton contended however that this must be done in context of the extant international situation and in Guyana’s strategic interest and according to him, much more analysis needed to be done of the timing of state visits. Reference was made to the President’s trip to the Middle East.

The UN Security Council while voting on Wednesday to impose the fourth round of sanctions against Iran, demanded that the country suspend its uranium enrichment activities and peacefully resolve outstanding concerns over the nature of its nuclear programme.

The latest text – resolution 1929 – builds on previous sanctions by deciding that Iran shall not acquire an interest in any commercial activity in another State involving uranium mining, production or use of nuclear materials and technology.  Among other elements, the resolution alerts states to the potential link between Iran’s energy sector revenues and energy-related technologies and proliferation, and establishes a UN panel of experts to help monitor and enforce sanctions implementation.

There are concerns here that part of Tehran’s mapping exercise will include the identification and mining of uranium deposits.

According to the UN, the Security Council received the support of 12 Council members – Brazil and Turkey voted against and Lebanon abstained – citing the proliferation risks posed by Iran’s nuclear programme and its continued failure to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Tehran has insisted it would go ahead with its uranium enrichment plans, which are at the centre of the dispute and the Islamic State has also threatened to relinquish its membership of the IAEA. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadijnejad described the UN resolution, which was developed after five months of deliberations by Security  Council members, as “valueless” and should be thrown “in the waste bin like a used handkerchief”.

According to the UN, Iran’s nuclear programme, which its officials have stated is for peaceful purposes, but some other countries contend is driven by military ambitions, has been a matter of international concern since the discovery in 2003 that the country had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on Iran to fully comply with all relevant Council resolutions and to cooperate fully with the IAEA to resolve all outstanding issues.

The Security Council has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Iran since 2006, including a ban on all items which could contribute to the country’s enrichment of uranium, a necessary step for both peaceful and militaristic uses of nuclear energy, and arms sales and a freeze on assets.

The Council also decided that all States shall prevent the supply, sale or transfer to Iran of battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, large calibre artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles or missile systems.

It also asks States to take all necessary measures to prevent the transfer to Iran of technology or technical assistance related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.