The U.N. Security Council is set to approve new sanctions against Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. However, delays seem inevitable as non-permanent members (Libya, Indonesia, South Africa, and Vietnam) object to the resolution. The sanctions as currently drafted would expand travel restrictions, freeze the assets of Iranian officials linked to the nuclear effort, ban trade with Iran in goods that have both civilian and military uses, and impose a travel ban on those individuals most involved in proliferation activity.

The four reluctant council members wanted to delay a vote until after last Friday's release of a report by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA said suspicions about the majority of past Iranian nuclear activities had eased or been laid to rest. South Africa today declared confidently that Iran did not intend to use its nuclear program for military purposes, saying that this report showed Iran to be "cooperating."

Meanwhile, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continues his assault on domestic critics who are "siding with the enemy."

"Everyone has understood that Iran is the number one power in the world. Today the name of Iran means a firm punch in the teeth of the powerful and it puts them in their place," he said.

These angry pronouncements come one day after former top nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani launched a bold attack on Ahmadinijad's foreign policy, accusing the president of using "coarse slogans and grandstanding" instead of showing flexibility and openness to dialogue with the rest of the world.