UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Japan handily defeated Iran for a non-permanent seat on the U.N. security council and Austria and Turkey edged out Iceland in secret ballot voting Friday.
Iran -- under U.N. sanctions for its nuclear program -- received only 32 votes from the U.N. members compared to 158 for Japan for the Asian seat.
Austria and Turkey beat Iceland in the battle for two non-permanent European seats on the 15-member council in voting at a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.
The Security Council is the powerhouse of the U.N. with the ability to impose sanctions and dispatch peacekeepers.
The other two seats went to Mexico, which will represent Latin America, and Uganda, which will represent Africa; both ran unopposed.
You would think Iran's defeat would be a foregone conclusion but, really, you can't take anything for granted when it comes to the U.N. Today, sanity prevailed. Somewhere.
Shabbat Shalom.
