Iran faces international isolation and the possibility of punishing sanctions if it fails to heed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a suspension of its controversial nuclear program, Washington said Monday.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the resolution, which passed 14 to 1, is meant to compel Tehran back to the negotiating table.
The council gave Tehran an August 31 deadline to comply. If it does not, Iran will head "down the road of further isolation," McCormack told reporters at a briefing.
"The international community has offered them a pathway … so that we can have negotiations," said McCormack.
"They don't have anywhere to hide. They don't have any protectors," he said.
"It is in their interest, it is in the interest of the international community for them to comply."
Resolution 1696, adopted by the Security Council Monday, expressed "serious concern" over Iran's refusal to comply with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) orders to halt uranium enrichment and other work that could lead to developing a nuclear bomb.
But the text of the resolution stopped short of an immediate threat of sanctions, which have been opposed by Russia and China, and said punitive action would have to be the subject of further discussions.
