Pointless Resolution

UN Security Council sanctions used to carry ominous weight. That no longer seems to be the case -- at least in the case of Iran. For the second time in four months, Tehran has been condemned because of its nuclear policy. The country's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, may condemn the latest resolution as much as he wants, but he'll probably be right when he says that the resolution will have no effect.

After long and bitter debate, the mountain has given birth to a mouse: Arms trade with Iran is supposed to be outlawed and the bank accounts of a few more Iranians, who work in the arms and nuclear sectors, are to be frozen.

Again Tehran is called on for the last time to stop enriching uranium in order to begin negotiations about a peaceful nuclear collaboration. Disregarding any visa difficulties he might have had, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad really didn't need to bother appearing before the Council: Such a resolution is as toothless as it is without effect.

What, for example, is meant to be achieved with an arms embargo? In times, when even civilian airplanes can no longer be delivered to Iran, no one will openly broker arms deals with Tehran. And why should a resolution -- any more than the UNIFIL troops -- be able to stop Iranian arms exports to the Lebanese Hezbollah?

Iran rejects the Council's actions as unacceptable. As chief witnesses for their case, Tehran officials could draw on some UN ambassadors -- such as the French one -- who emphasized before the meeting that Iran naturally has a right to peaceful use of nuclear power.

It's a right that includes enriching uranium as long as this only happens in low concentrations. But that's exactly the center of the conflict: The Security Council does not differentiate between enriching for energy generation and producing arms. It simply assumed that Iran is aiming for nuclear weapons without having the slightest proof for this. It's doubtful whether people are even convinced themselves: Would they otherwise stop at freezing bank accounts and banning an arms trade that's impossible to control?

Had the case remained with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, chances for a solution would have been much better. To make Washington happy, however, it was brought before the Council, which has problems to deal with it. Everyone seems to know that a solution cannot be found this way and that things could get even more complicated -- as the incident regarding British soldiers who were arrested after allegedly entering Iranian territory shows.

Middle East expert Peter Philipp is Deutsche Welle's chief correspondent (win).