Iranian leader gets visa to address U.N.
The United States has approved a visa so that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can address the United Nations Security Council before it votes on additional sanctions over his country’s nuclear program, the State Department said Monday.
A draft resolution introduced to the council last week would ban all Iranian arms exports and freeze financial assets abroad of 28 individuals, groups and companies.
The measure also requires Iran to halt uranium enrichment and the processing of nuclear fuel within 60 days after passage or face the possibility of additional sanctions.
Enriched uranium can be used for power generation or for weapons. Many Western nations doubt Iran’s assertion that its program is peaceful.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack urged Ahmadinejad to accept an offer by the five permanent members of the Security Council, as well as Germany, to give up uranium enrichment and start talks with them over its nuclear program.
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