U.S. pushes for vote to overhaul sanctions on Iran

UNITED NATIONS -- The five veto-wielding Security Council members -- including the United States and Russia -- demanded a vote Monday on overhauling U.N. sanctions on Iraq despite Syria's reluctance to support the resolution.

A vote was scheduled after consultations set to begin at mid-afternoon.

Monday morning, the 15-nation council rejected Syrian amendments that would have favored Saddam Hussein's government, meaning it was likely Damascus would abstain from the vote, diplomats said.

One Syrian measure would have included a reference an article in the U.N. Charter that assures a country's right to self-defense "if an armed attack occurs" against a member nation. The rejected amendment appeared directed against U.S. threats to topple Saddam.

Syria's U.N. Ambassador Mikhail Wehbe said it was also aimed at the so-called "no-fly" zones over northern and southern Iraq enforced by U.S. and British aircraft.

The five permanent council members, the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China, introduced a resolution a week ago aimed at tightening the 11-year-old military embargo on Saddam Hussein's regime while easing the flow of civilian goods. The sanctions were imposed in 1990 after Iraq invaded Kuwait.

Inspections halted

The import regime remains in effect until the United Nations certifies Iraq no longer has weapons of mass destruction. U.N. inspectors, however, left the country in 1998 in advance of U.S. and British airstrikes. Iraq has refused to let inspectors return, insisting it has complied with the resolutions and demanding that sanctions be lifted.

The resolution was the result of months of negotiations between Russia -- Iraq's staunchest ally on the Security Council -- and the United States.

The resolution represents the most far-reaching change in the oil-for-food program since it was launched in 1996 to help Iraq's people cope with sanctions.