Australia’s U.N. Ambassador Gary Quinlan, who chairs the committee monitoring sanctions on Iran, did not identify which countries were opposed in his briefing to the council on Monday. But council diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because consultations were private, said Russia was most vocal in its opposition and was supported by China.

Quinlan told the council that a number of council members backed the panel’s view that Iran’s launch of Shahab-1 and Shahab-3 missiles in a war-game exercise in July 2012 “constituted a clear violation” of sanctions, and therefore all U.N. member states “should redouble efforts to implement ballistic missile-related sanctions on Iran.”

He said the sanctions committee — which includes all 15 council members — wrote to Iran on April 12 asking for comment within 15 days on the panel’s conclusion. Iran has not replied and “the committee is currently considering additional follow up actions,” he said.

The Security Council has imposed four rounds of sanctions against Iran because of concerns it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons and its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment. The division over the missile launches indicates a reluctance by Moscow and Beijing to take further action, especially as a new president, Hasan Rouhani, will be sworn in Aug. 4.

In another incident, Quinlan said the panel concluded that Iran violated — or probably violated — sanctions by shipping weapons to Yemeni insurgents in January that were seized by the government.

He said several council members stated that the panel’s evidence “was sufficient to assert that Iran was in violation of its obligations, illustrating a pattern of sanctions evasion through arms smuggling in the Middle East.” But he said others “stated that the lack of stronger evidence as to the provenance of the arms, such as documentation, justified the lack of a definitive conclusion.”

Quinlan said the sanctions committee sent a letter to Iran on May 21 “bringing to its attention the panel’s conclusion, expressing concern about the panel’s findings and asking for its comment … within 15 days.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry has denied it exported the weapons. But to date the government has not responded to the committee, Quinlan said.

Acting U.S. Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo said the latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency “again shows Iran moving full speed ahead with its prohibited activities” and urged the sanctions committee and the Security Council to take action in response.

“Just last January, Iran was caught sending shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, high-grade explosives, and other arms to Yemen,” DiCarlo said. “This was more than just a sanctions violation. It was an aggressive act to undermine Yemen’s transition.”

The panel of experts, appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and approved by the council, investigates and reports to the committee on implementation and alleged violations of sanctions against Iran.

Quinlan told the council that the panel’s coordinator has stressed “that Iran continued to seek items for its prohibited activities from abroad by using complex procurement methods, including front companies, false documentation, and intermediaries.”

To deal with these practices, he said, the coordinator called for additional vigilance and expertise by all countries, especially in identifying dual-use items that can be used for civilian activities but also in producing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

Quinlan’s report to the council, which was delayed because of the disputes, cited other activity related to Iran sanctions. It didn’t identify the countries but U.N. diplomats did, speaking on condition of anonymity because the names were not made public.

According to the report and the diplomats, the United Arab Emirates sent a report on March 4 on the confiscation of shipments to Iran suspected of containing prohibited items; France reported on April 12 that a third state returned a fiber optic gyroscope to which can be used in missile guidance to France after the discovery that it was to be re-exported to Iran; and Singapore reported on June 6 that it seized a shipment destined for Iran of carbon fiber, which is strong, light-weight and can be used in the aerospace industry.

Sweden reported on March 8 that an individual had been found guilty of exporting control valves — a prohibited dual-use item — and the United States on April 18 reported on court cases against two Iranian national accused of illegally exporting and attempting to export dual-use items to Iran, the report and diplomats said.

Quinlan said the committee continues to discuss whether and how to respond to the panel’s compilation of public statements by Iranian officials and alleged recipients of Iranian military assistance including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Hezbollah which potentially violate U.N. bans on Iranian arms exports.

DiCarlo, the U.S. envoy, urged the council to tackle Iran’s supply of weapons to the Syrian government, Hezbollah and other armed terrorist groups “with renewed urgency.”

KATHMANDU: UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki moon has pledged UN’s full support to Nepal’s political process, underlining the need to hold Constituent Assembly (CA) election in a credible and democratic manner, Nepal’s National News Agency (RSS) reports.

In a meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs Madhav Prasad Ghimire at the United Nations Office at Geneva on Monday night, the UN Secretary-General appreciated the good progress made by Nepal in meeting most of the Millennium Development Goals.

He also lauded the vision of Nepal for the graduation from the status of LDC by 2022 and praised the role played by Nepal in highlighting the concerns and difficulties of LDCs in multilateral forums.

He said sustainable political stability helps achieve further progress on sustainable development.

On the occasion, the Foreign Minister underlined the need for giving due recognition to the special needs and difficulties of LDCs and LLDCs in the articulation and implementation of the post 2015 development agenda.

The Secretary-General deeply appreciated the role of the Nepalese peacekeepers and said that their sacrifices would not go in vain.

UNITED NATIONS: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sent out invitations to a signing ceremony later this month for the large-scale peace agreement aimed at ending the fighting in Congo, the United Nations said Saturday.

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said the U.N. chief will attend the Feb. 24 event in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The peace agreement had been expected to be signed at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Jan. 28 but was delayed over what Ban called “procedural issues” and not over any fundamental differences in the agreement.

Nesirky said the agreement has been circulated to 11 countries including Congo, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, South Africa, Angola, Tanzania and Mozambique.

The peace deal is an effort at a large-scale political framework to end violence in Congo. Separate talks are taking place in Uganda between the rebel group known as M23 and Congolese officials.

Jean Baptiste Rudaseswa, a lawyer for M23, has said the plan could further destabilize Congo.

Mineral-rich eastern Congo has been engulfed in fighting since the 1994 Rwanda genocide. The United Nations has more than 17,700 U.N. peacekeepers and over 1,400 international police in Congo, but they did little to protect civilians as M23 rebels swept through eastern Congo last year and seized the key city of Goma.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said earlier this month that there is growing agreement on the need to create an “intervention brigade,” which would be part of the U.N. force, and give it a mandate to rein in, neutralize and disarm rebel groups in the east.

Ladsous said the agreement will spell out what Congo must do to reform the security sector and army and reassert its authority in the east. It will also include commitments by countries of the region to respect each other’s sovereignty and cooperate to address the underlying causes of the recurring violence in the east, including the presence of numerous armed groups.

KUWAIT CITY: U.N. humanitarian officials led by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon are urging for a major boost in relief aid for Syria at an international conference in Kuwait that includes both foes and backers of President Bashar Assad.

Representatives from more than 60 countries gathered on Wednesday to hear U.N. appeals to pledge up to $1.5 billion to help Syrians caught in the civil war and an estimated 700,000 refugees in neighboring countries such as Jordan and Turkey.

U.N. officials say they only have a fraction of the money needed, though international pledges increased shortly before the Kuwait conference. The European Union and the U.S. promised a total nearly $400 million on Tuesday.

Significant pledges from Gulf nations are also expected. The gathering also includes envoys from Russia and Iran, key Assad supporters.