PARIS, March 24 (Xinhua) -- French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy on Saturday welcomed the new UN Security Council resolution calling for tougher sanctions to pressure Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities.

    "I welcome the unanimous adoption of Resolution 1747," Douste-Blazy said in a statement.

    "With this new resolution, the Security Council reaffirms the clear choice facing Iran's leaders: cooperate with the international community or pursue their enrichment and reprocessing activities and worsen, in that way, their isolation," he said.

    The UN Security Council unanimously adopted on Saturday a new resolution, cosponsored by Britain, France and Germany and incorporating some of the amendments proposed by Indonesia, Qatar and South Africa, urging Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment "without further delay."

    The new sanctions, moderately harsher than those included in previous resolutions on the Iranian nuclear issue, called for a ban on arms exports to Iran and a freezing of assets of an additional 28 individuals and entities involved in Iran's nuclear and missile programs.