The UN Security Council has passed a weakened resolution this evening giving Iran until August 31st to suspend uranium enrichment or face the threat of economic and diplomatic sanctions.
Iran immediately rejected the council action, saying it would only make negotiations more difficult concerning a package of incentives offered in June for it to suspend enrichment.
"All along it has been the persistence of some to draw arbitrary red lines and deadlines that has closed the door to any compromise," said Iran's UN ambassador Javad Zarif. "This tendency has single-handedly blocked success and in most cases killed proposals in their infancy.
"This approach will not lead to any productive outcome and in fact it can only exacerbate the situation."
Because of Russian and Chinese demands, the text was watered down from earlier drafts, which would have made the threat of sanctions immediate. The draft now essentially requires the council to hold more discussions before it considers sanctions.
The draft passed by a vote of 14-1. Qatar, which represents Arab states on the council, cast the lone dissenting vote.
"I want to thank our allies on this very important resolution," President Bush said, adding that it was a reminder to Americans that the United States has a strategy in place to "send a common message, a unified message to the Iranian leadership."
Drafted by Britain, France and Germany with US backing, the resolution follows a July 12th agreement by the foreign ministers of those four countries, plus Russia and China to refer Tehran to the Security Council for not responding to the incentives package.
The ministers asked that council members adopt a resolution making Iran's suspension of enrichment activities mandatory. The resolution includes that demand and calls on all states "to exercise vigilance" in preventing the transfer of all goods that could be used for Iran's enrichment and ballistic missile programs.
"If you remember the reason for that resolution is to make the suspension of enrichment and related activities mandatory and then to give Iran a deadline by which it should accept the now mandatory requirement that it suspend its enrichment activities," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters on a flight from Jerusalem.