Security Council eases sanctions on Iraq

• The United States pushed through three Security Council resolutions that lifted restrictions left over from the confrontation with Saddam Hussein.
• One resolution permits Iraq to develop a civilian nuclear programme and import materials once banned because they could possibly be used to help develop unconventional weapons.
  
• A second resolution formally shuttered the dormant, widely corrupt oil-for-food programme.
  
• And the third gives the country control over most of its oil assets starting July 1, 2011, while simultaneously lifting the protection that shielded post-invasion Iraq from countless legal claims.
• Council resolutions that demand that Iraq resolve disputes with Kuwait were left intact. Working out final agreements on issues ranging from border demarcation to items stolen from the Kuwaiti national archives will be a priority for the next Iraqi government.