The Obama administration announced Tuesday a deal with other powers, including Russia and China, to impose a fourth set of sanctions on Iran in as many years, touching off a contest with Tehran to win support in the United Nations Security Council.<\/p>\n
The announcement came just a day after Iranian leaders announced a tentative deal with Turkey and Brazil to turn over, for a year, about half of Iran\u2019s stockpile of nuclear fuel, part of an effort to undermine the sanctions resolutions. But even if the new sanctions pass the Security Council it is unclear whether its provisions \u201d\u201d including a mandate to inspect ships suspected of entering foreign ports with nuclear-related technology or weapons \u201d\u201d will cause enough pain to force the country to halt uranium enrichment and cooperate with international inspectors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have reached agreement on a strong draft with the cooperation of both Russia and China,\u201d\u009d Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday morning. Later in the day, the American ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, presented the resolution to the Security Council, the first step in what promises to be weeks of debate.<\/p>\n