UNITED NATIONS (RFE/RL) — The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a binding resolution that calls on Iran to suspend its nuclear enrichment activities and to comply with its obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In the resolution, the 15-member council directs all states to prevent the supply or sale to Iran of any materials that could assist its nuclear- or ballistic-missile programs. It also imposes an asset freeze on key companies and individuals named by the UN as contributors to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.

After the vote, Britain’s UN ambassador, Emyr Jones-Parry, said that the resolution is not the goal in itself, but a means to bring Iran back to the negotiating table.

“This resolution underlines the seriousness of the situation, including the international community’s lack of confidence about the direction of Iran’s policies,” he said. “Importantly, the door is not closed for Iran. We remain committed to seeking a diplomatic, negotiated solution with Iran based on cooperation.”

The resolution was adopted after lengthy diplomatic negotiations between the Security Council permanent members, with Russia and China on one side and the United Kingdom, France, and United States on the other.

Russia and China, for whom Iran is an important trading partner, rejected imposing severe trade and travel sanctions on Tehran, as the United States initially insisted.

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