The UN Security Council's vote to impose new sanctions on Iran gives U.S. President Barack Obama the diplomatic victory he has long sought. The sanctions by themselves, however, are unlikely to produce the result he most wants: a halt to Iran's nuclear weapons program.
The Security Council resolution, the fourth to target Iran since 2006, again calls on Tehran to comply with its Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty obligations. To back up that demand, the Council bans a wider range of arms sales to Tehran, restricts Iranian banks operating abroad, adds more Iranian companies to the embargo blacklist, and authorizes countries to stop and inspect any cargo bound for Iran that they suspect contains prohibited nuclear items.
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