Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad referred to the United Nations as an “illegitimate” body whose agreement for resolutions on Iran’s nuclear program were “torn pieces of paper.”

I am not about to argue on behalf of the UN nor whether the sanctions are worth torn sheets of paper, I think he actually has a point in both, but it is quite odd for Ahmadinejad to discount the United Nations Security Council and the entire body yet desire to speak in front of the UNSC before the vote for sanctions is held. If the UN has no legitimacy and the agreement is worth nothing, why would Ahmadinejad care?

In a letter to the council’s president yesterday, Iran requested that Mr. Ahmadinejad address the 15-member body before it votes on the proposed resolution, according to two council diplomats who spoke to The New York Sun on condition of anonymity.

Iran also asked the State Department to allow an entry visa to Mr. Ahmadinejad and 38 of his associates so they can travel to New York on a date “to be determined,” an American official said.

It is widely expected that if Ahmadinejad is granted entry into the United States, which there’s no question he will be if the UNSC will allow him to speak, he will slam the UN, the UNSC, the United States, England, Israel and Porky Pig while throwing a few jabs towards the film ‘300′ as a Hollywood Zionist plot to make Iranians out to be animals. Actually, the last two are merely guesses, but the previous are all but guaranteed to happen.

The agreement between the permanent nations and Germany includes the following:

Under the draft, Iran would be banned from supplying, selling or transferring “any arms or related material” and all countries would be prohibited from buying Iranian weapons.

The proposed resolution doesn’t ban arms imports to Iran but calls on all nations “to exercise vigilance and restraint” in supplying tanks, combat aircraft and other heavy weapons.

In the financial area, it urges all governments and financial institutions not to make any new commitments “of grants, financial assistance, or concessional loans” to the Iranian government.

There is no travel ban, but all countries would be asked to exercise “vigilance and restraint” on the entry or transit through their territory of the individuals whose assets have been frozen. The draft would also require all countries to report the transit or entry of any of these people to the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against Iran.

When asked where the teeth of this proposal is, only crickets could be heard chirping.

The first measure is more of a continuation of previous UN resolutions seeking to bar Iran from arming Hezbollah. Since we all know that has worked wonders, there is little doubt if this resolution passes arms export bans will work in similar fashion, which is to say not at all. There will be no “vigilance and restraint” given to arms sales to Iran, nor will the same be made for finances or travel.

I’d rather be optimistic, but this is the UN we’re speaking about and the same conditions were agreed upon previously before Russia sold anti-aircraft weaponry to Iran and before Russia decided to continue to build Iranian nuclear facilities. Do not expect Moscow to restrain from either even though they agreed to the resolutions, and I am more than willing to wager Russia was the main country that opposed a resolution that actually means something other than just being “torn pieces of paper.”