Misc

Reuters: China is one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council who have the power to veto any proposed resolution. While Beijing often abstains from Security Council votes on decisions it dislikes, it is much less willing to use its veto and risk diplomatic isolation, especially if fellow Security Council member Russia backs a resolution. China is more likely to wield the veto threat to seek to thwart any measures that could threaten its energy and economic ties with Iran, as it has done before. In July 2006, China backed U.N. Security Council Resolution 1696 that threatened sanctions on Iran, and in December of the same year it supported Resolution 1737, which put sanctions on Iranian nuclear imports and exports >>>

CBS News Foreign Affairs Analyst Pamela Falk: