Clinton: Iran has left us little choice but to impose sanctions
Russia Foreign Min. official: Moscow won't support 'crippling' Iran sanctions over nuclear work.
By News Agencies and Haaretz Service Tags: Israel news Iran nuclearU.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that Iran's continuing refusal to provide more information on its nuclear program has left the international community little choice but to impose new, tough sanctions on Tehran.
In congressional testimony, Clinton said Iran's failure to accept the Obama administration's offers of engagement and prove its nuclear intentions are peaceful had given the U.S. and its partners new resolve in pressuring Tehran to comply with international demands through fresh penalties.
"We have pursued a dual-track approach to Iran that has exposed its refusal to live up to its responsibilities and helped us achieve a new unity with our international partners," she told the Senate Appropriations Committee.
"Iran has left the international community little choice but to impose greater costs and pressure in the face of its provocative steps," Clinton said. "We are now working actively with our partners to prepare and implement new measures to pressure Iran to change its course."
The U.S. and others believe Iran is hiding nuclear weapons development under the guise of a civilian energy program. Iran insists that its intentions are peaceful.
Iran has formally set out its terms for giving up most of its cache of enriched uranium in a confidential document - and the conditions fall short of what has been demanded by the United States and other world powers.
Tehran has said it is ready to hand over the bulk of its stockpile, as called for under a deal brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency and endorsed by the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany.
But Iran adds that it must simultaneously receive fuel rods for its research reactor in return, and that such an exchange must take place on Iranian territory.
Clinton addressed the possibility that Congress may impose its own sanctions on Iran, besides those the U.S. is seeking through the United Nations Security Council. If Congress does that, Clinton said, it should leave the administration enough flexibility to continue the separate UN track.
Congressional sanctions might be tougher than any the United States could win international approval for at the UN, but the United States wants international backing for its tough stance against Iran and sees the UN penalties as a powerful symbol of world resolve against an Iranian bomb.
Diplomat: Russia says it won't support 'crippling' sanctions
Russia earlier Wednesday said it would not support "crippling" sanctions against Iran, including any that may be slapped on the Islamic Republic's banking or energy sectors, a senior Russian diplomat said.
"We are not got going to work on sanctions or measures which could lead to the political or economic or financial isolation of this country," Oleg Rozhkov, deputy director of the security affairs and disarmament department at Russia's Foreign Ministry, told reporters.
"What relation to non-proliferation is there in forbidding banking activities with Iran? This is a financial blockade. And oil and gas. These sanctions are aimed only at paralysing the country and paralysing the regime."
Iran has the world's second-largest crude oil reserves, but desperately needs investment to develop them. It denies working to develop a nuclear warhead but insists on its right to create nuclear power-generating capacity.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Moscow last week to press the Kremlin to back tougher sanctions against Iran over its suspected nuclear weapons project.
This week, Netanyahu called for an immediate embargo on Iran's energy sector.
In a new twist on the international community's effort to reign in Tehran's nuclear ambitions, Japan has offered to enrich uranium on Iran's behalf, the AFP news agency reported on Wednesday.
Iran has not yet responded officially but its parliament speaker Ali Larijani is expected to discuss the offer in a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada in Tokyo on Wednesday, the agency said, quoting the Japanese-language Nikkei business daily.
A previous deal offered by Russia and France to enrich and process Iranian nuclear fuel failed to materialize after Iran refused to send the greater part of its stock of low-enriched uranium - some 400 kilograms - abroad in a single consignment.
Japan offers to enrich Iran's uranium
Japan's offer was first mooted in December following approval from the United States, during a visit to Tokyo by Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, the Japanese paper said.
On Tuesday the U.S. warned Iran that "patience is running out" over its nuclear program, adding that Tehran has shown no interest in addressing the West's fears over its controversial uranium enrichment.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs repeated U.S. warnings of "consequences" if Iran continues to enrich uranium.
"It is clear that the continuing announcements and pronouncements that are made in Iran demonstrate that they have no interest in building international confidence that their nuclear program is for peaceful means," Gibbs added.
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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has backed away previous deals to enrich Iranian uranium abroad. |
| Photo by: (Archive) |
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Aipacs Clinton and Israeli,s Likud are the new International Community? Just for an Israeli smoke screen! If any of this rhettoric was aimed at Israel or the US they would be considered acts of war.........one of them has already used nukes on civilians not once but twice. Will the second country be Israel?.......PEACE EVER?
The US, Britain, France and Germany are determined to put stiff sanctions on Iran. Russia is wavering and China jumped ship following the arms sales to Taiwan and the Dali Lama visit. The tough sell is the Gulf States which would bear the bulk of the cost of enforcement. The Saudi Foreign Minister even suggested that sanctions would take too long and America should press Israel to nuclear disarmament. Which I am sure he knows will never happen, but what a way to say no to sanctions. Clinton is sounding absolutely like a freaked out parrot right now.
Americans are just like any other people they love freedom. America became free because the People fought for it. Government at the moment is the Problem not the People.
the rest of the world IS in danger sam and here's why. 1) proliferation of nukes into arab countries will be very destabilizing globally. 2)if a regional nuclear confrontation breaks out, a) it could easily spread and b) it WILL collapse yours and everyone else's economies. 3)iran is not just after the destruction of israel. That's the opener..what they have stated, on record, is that they want to bring down the "west", (you know, america, britian, france, italy, spain)and bring the world under one islamic ruled caliphate. say what you want sam, your thinking is short term, isolationist, and frankly, out of touch with the facts. Iran has supported world wide terror and murder for many decades...if you're ok with the mullahs ruling the "west", ok sam..good luck to you. But this is NOT israels problem alone. That is a red herring and precisely what iran wants to have you think.
have people had enough examples of the utter FAILURE of obama's foreign policy? honestly, his middle east and overall geopolitical strategy is a total bust. and just the other day, he announces the reopening of the US embassy in syria, WHILE syria publicly refuses the IAEA into the sites to investigate further...and obama REWARDS THEM WITH AN EMBASSY? Can you see where this goof is going? jesse jackson was absolutely right in his open microphone gaff in 2008 in paris. Obama ran from jackson on that but it turns out that jackson was 100% spot on. obama is a threat for world peace and specifically, to israel.
Can you please list all the wars that Israel has started in its short history. Was it in 1948 when we were attacked by 5 Arab armies. Was it in 1967 when Eygpt, Syria and Jordan massed armies on our borders and threatened us with extinction. Was it in 1973 when Egypt and Syria attacked us without warning on Yom Kippur. Was it in 2006 when Herzbollah crossed the border and killed and kidnapped our soldiers and fired rockets on our towns and villages as a diversion. Was it in 2008 when we went into Gaza after Hamas fired more than 8,000 rockets into Southern Israel. How many wars do you think Israel would of fought if your jihadist terrorist friends had just left us alone. You Israel bashers always only look at one side. Remember for every action the is a reaction and its is the duty of a goverment to protect its citizens against the likes of you.
...silly neocon statements like this is one of them. Go ahead Hillary and cost more Americans jobs and pay higer energy prices. The Massachusetts election won't be a fluke because she should know that Americans right, left and center are sick of these illegal wars that have bankrupt our government and depressed our economy. Democrats will stay home in November and let the GOP win to stall the entire government, because a divided government cannot launch a war that the majority of the people (including all three religions) are against.
Why won't Clinton have the guts to tackle the problems in the Middle East at their core. Slap sanctions on Iran if you reall want, but for heaven's sake, do something, anything, to show you don't take orders direct from Israel. Just tell Israel to end the occupation and say you're cutting off the 3 billion a year if they don't. How hard is that? It's really, really easy and would go a huge wwy towards bringing peace to the Middle East.
Clinton is not helping by sounding strident and frantic. She is just signaling what the world has come to understand. A year ago Netanyahu castrated Obama as far as the mideast is concerned. Then the republicans castrated him as far as the USA is concerned. The sanction deal which was so solid just a few months ago fell apart as a result of US bungling, particularly the arms sales to Taiwan and deployment of US Patriot Systems in Eastern Europe. Now those who had the most to lose from sanctions, China, Russia, the Gulf States are all starting to bail-out. I doubt if Netanyahu's frantic pressure on Russia helped either. The opportunity created to act, has been lost by wrong actions.
crippling sanctions as demanded by Netanyahu. It will cost our economies to much. Israel of course is free to impose it's own crippling sanctions on Iran if it makes it feel better. Point is sanctions didn't work against India, Pakistan, North Korea and they won't work against Iran either. Allso the goals of Israel and the rest of the world are different. The rest of the world believe Iran has a right to nuclear technology. Israel wants to ban all nuclear technology in Iran. Until Israel moves towards the position of the world. Then we will be diametrically opposed to how to achieve it. Meanwhile it looks like another Netanyahu foreign policy objective is doomed to spectacular failure.
I'm all for having a 'one to one' with Iran. I'm not sure who'd win but it would clip a few wings amongst Israel's hawks.
Dear super Jew, Lets start with your proposal first with Israel as they do have nukes and troubling all the region I would say.
Wat a pity but I think when they get offered part of Georgia may be they will change their mind and will be more flexible. I trust the little Medvedev guy more than Putin-he looks not like evil. I am not to smart here but I do think never can be someone completely made happy but when all are a little bit happy than this is guaranty for peace. I deeply pity the very poor youngsters from Iran- which deserve like any human freedom. I am sure they will by successful in changing their place into something more normal. Until the freak shah sun started to steel and run corrupt everything was ok. Steeling is wrong. I know this won?t be printed anyhow. But I do repeat - when every uncle is at least a little bit pleased than it is a good step forward into peace. May commonsense, wisdom and logic win over paranoia and stupidity.
They won't back nonsense sanctions on a nation that's an NPT signatory, that allows any and all UN inspections and hasn't started a war in the past 300 years. On the hand Israel which is not a signatory to the NPT, has started many wars in it's short history and posseses illegal nukes escpaes any and all sanctions!
Superjew, Go for it. Bomb Iran and kiss Israel good-bye.
Sanctions in whatever form are a dead-end in dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions. Iran & China are only concerned about lining their pockets with arms & technology sales to Iran, while ensuring that their energy supply remains intact; nothing else matters to them, including whether Iran attacks Israel. The only answer, is complete annihilation of the Iranian sites, which should be incredibly easy to do without even sending a single soul into Iran. I pray such an attack will occur, because the near-term fallout is much, much worse than dealing with a nuclear armed Iran. What amazes me are the incredible amount of ignorant people who completely dismiss the maniacal penchant & repeated threats against Israel & the 'West' made by Iran's tyrannical 'government'. The thinking that Iran, as a potential nuclear-armed country is no different than, say India, is patently absurd.
First of all Iran would be mad if it did not get nukes, Pakistan and China to its east has them, Russia to its north and Israel to its west, in addition, a hostile US is surrounding it in Iraq and Afghanistan - anyone with there right mind would want protection. Secondly, the US cannot afford another war and the European are ill equipped - it is great that as a superjew you want to bomb Iran, but not with Christian blood or money. The fact of the matter is that Iran will get the nuke and nothing will happen. Iran has never (in recent history) invaded a country (in fact it was a victim of an invasion) or violated the airspace or soverighnty of any of its neighbors, which is more than we can say for Israel. So everyone should relax and accept the inevitable - in 4 years there will be a test, and the world will move on. There are far more important things in the US to worry about like our economy, China, proliferation with Russians current 9000 nuke stockpile, North Korea, etc
isreal go it alone. the rest of the world is tired of your war mongering and is not in danger of a nuke armed iran, as proven we are not in danger of their chemical and bio weapons which they have had for decades yet have not attacked a single western country. Attack, go for it.
a very tired subject- fact is, iran is racing towards a nuclear weapons program and everyone knows it..no matter who or where the enrichment is done, you can bet iran will have secret enrichment facilities tucked away from prying eyes... nuclear umbrellas dont work, mad wont work...the right solution for all of mankind is like obama(bush) said in his oslo nobel speech..some wars are justified and in fact are necessary for keeping peace. bombs away ....take out irans infrastructure now...blowback? of course...but its far beter than the long term implications for the whole world. the people of iran will rise up and rejoice in a strike in their corrupt government's nuclear weapons and IRGC facilities.