Lieberman to U.S.: Embargo Iran like Cuba
Foreign Minister's initiative, which his deputy will present next week, not coordinated with Netanyahu.
By Barak Ravid Tags: Israel news Iran nuclear Avigdor LiebermanForeign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Thursday that he doubted the United Nations would follow through with Western demands for harsher sanctions over Iran's contentious nuclear program, and urged the United States to impose its own embargo similar to the one it has held on Cuba for the last 50 years.
Lieberman believes that such a move could topple the Iranian regime within a year, even though the embargo on Cuba has done nothing to weaken Fidel Castro's government - and despite the fact that the Obama administration seeks to engage in dialogue with Iran.
The foreign minister's initiative was not coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has never declared that Israel's goal was to topple the Iranian government.
Lieberman's deputy, Danny Ayalon, is flying to Washington on Monday in order to present the foreign minister's proposal. As he deliberated with U.S. official, special U.S. envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell and Vice President Joe Biden will be in Israel, meeting with Netanyahu.
In response to the initiative, Netanyahu's office said that the "the prime minister's stance on diplomatic efforts to thwart Iran's nuclear program is known, and has not changed."
Meanwhile, Russia and China urged Iran on Thursday to accept a UN nuclear fuel proposal aimed at easing concerns about its atomic program, while U.S., British and French envoys said it was time for new sanctions.
The statements by the five permanent, veto-wielding U.N. Security Council members highlighted the different views dividing the United States, Britain and France from Russia and China as they struggle to agree on what should be done to persuade Iran to halt its nuclear enrichment program.
Russia and China, which have reluctantly supported three rounds of U.N. sanctions against the Islamic Republic, renewed their calls for diplomacy and dialogue.
"We do believe that there is still a horizon for negotiations," Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the 15-nation council. He added that the issue should be resolved "through dialogue and interaction with the Iranian side."
He called on Iran accept a UN International Atomic Energy Agency proposal that would enable Tehran to secure fresh nuclear fuel for a research reactor in Tehran that provides isotopes for cancer treatment.
Under the plan, Tehran would ship most of its low-enriched uranium to Russia and France so that it could be further enriched and placed into fuel assemblies for the reactor.
After agreeing to it in principle at a meeting in Geneva in October 2009, Tehran balked, saying it would rather buy new fuel rather than send its own uranium stocks abroad. It has made other counterproposals that have also been rejected.
The United States, Britain, France and Germany say the point of the plan was to move most of Iran's uranium - enough for a single atomic weapon if enriched to very high purity level - out of the country to buy time for negotiations.
"Successful implementation of this project would be a credible step in restoring trust in the solely peaceful orientation of the Iranian nuclear program and would best meet the humanitarian needs of the Iranian people," Churkin said.
China's deputy UN ambassador, Liu Zhenmin, echoed Churkin in urging Iran and the Western powers to redouble efforts to find a solution that would secure fuel for Iran's reactor.
He said that was "the key to easing the current tense situation," along with renewed negotiations with Iran.
But Liu urged Iran to improve its cooperation with the IAEA and reiterated Beijing's commitment to the so-called dual track strategy of combining dialogue with the threat of sanctions to persuade Iran to cooperate.
Western diplomats say Russia is probably ready to back new sanctions, albeit weak ones. But they have doubts about China.
U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice told the council it had to do the right thing and consider "further steps" - a diplomatic code word for sanctions - against Tehran for ignoring five council resolutions demanding that it halt enrichment.
"In light of Iran's continued non-compliance with its obligations, this council must consider further measures to hold the government of Iran accountable," Rice said.
The envoys of Britain and France joined Rice in calling for new sanctions. Without naming specific countries, British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant hinted that new sanctions would help avert military action by Israel, which has made clear that it considers Iran's nuclear program an existential threat.
"Further measures would demonstrate that the international community is united behind a diplomatic resolution to Iran's nuclear issue, and stave off any pre-emptive moves by others to resolve this issue by other means," he said.
The United States, Britain, France and Germany have circulated to Russia and China a revised proposal for a fourth round of sanctions that would expand a UN blacklist to include Iran's central bank and other firms and individuals, including some tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Western diplomats say the six hope to have a conference call soon to discuss the proposal. Russia's initial reaction has been negative, but China's view remains unclear, they say.
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Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman |
| Photo by: (Archive) |
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And keep it for ever. While exagerating Irans threat like that of Cuba! Maybe they could put in a puppet like Battista or the Shah. All for multinational corporate intersests and then the oil would flow and make profits for the rightous capitalists......Lieberman is a fool!
HE IS BOTH !!
The wacko british, french and american leaders that armed your nation to the teeth with nukes when you have unstable hormonal psyciatric patients like Lieberman running you country.
...so he at least can uderstand the key differences between a cuba embargo (cough cough - Island!) and Iran (mainly landlocked with 'friendly neighbours. Also add into the mix that Russia and China are its mates too. Otherwise i would love to hear what kind of embargo Lieberman would propose and with whose miltary toys he would be doing it with.
Who needs enemies when there is such a bullish completely incompetent Lieberman? Arabs could not dream of having such an ally
Cuba as an example? Ha! Castro is still in power after nearly 50 years. Sanctions against Iran will PREVENT democratization from ever happening in Iran.
if israel has the means? the result might not be to your liking !!
if you equate leiberman as a "settler thug" who has hot threatened to exterminate iran with irans heirachy who have threatened to exterminate israel what words would you use to describe them ? another braindead poster should stop posting !!
....for Israel...??? U.S. and the rest of the world, do this for us, do that for us, and as soon as possible, please... What about helping yourself for a change, my dear Israeli friends...??? :)
I say to lieberman, embargo Israel like Cuba.
"The foreign minister's initiative was not coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu..." Bibi is a fiasco, Likud - a disaster, and Lieberman - a catastrophe.
The embargo on Cuba kept an unpopular regime in a tiny nation in power for 50 years. On the other hand opening up brought down the mighty USSR and tyrannical Red China. Let's use policies that work and not those that failed in the past.
I guess Mr. Lieberman is the new Kaddafi big loud hallow mouth with words in the water. He already ended the Assad dynasty in Syria and toppled the Islamic regime in Iran.
Not even Lieberman's left hand can work in tandem with his right.
embargo by the US is a complete failure? Israel needs to realize the US can not (will not) attack Iran and that the US no longer has any clout in the world. Israel's ONLY friend (bought and paid for) can no longer protect Israel and can no longer tolerate Israel causing problems in the ME. It is long past time for Israelis to realize that they need to give up lots of land, water and cash to ensure that Israel survives after the US is completely irrelevant to the rest of the world. The more Israel pushes, the worst its future will be. Give it up already.
This guy rivals Yaakov Smirnoff without any effort. He really should take his show on the road in the US. Does he really think the US embargo on Cuba is like a blockade? Does he really think Iran has had lots of open trade with the US since 1979?
"...urged the United States to impose its own embargo similar to the one it has held on Cuba for the last 50 years." I have a suggestion for the racist buffoon Lieberman. Let the Zionist State of Israel place an embargo on Iran. What a friggin' joke! "The foreign minister's initiative was not coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu..." Who exactly is in charge?
Or maybe we should just leave it all up to God.
There is no similarity between Iran and Cuba; different countries, different time and different dynamics. Only a thug like you wants to get his way with brute force by assuming that sanctions will "cripple" Iran. Iran is not Cuba, it is not the 1960s, and there is no cold war.
I got to say that Is a big gaffe that is a huge politcal error and if Netanyahu is correct in his position whichis important for image alone even if he is for Lieberman's words and him as FM bibi I have to say this is one you can spin to Liebermans constituents that you had no choice, his words were too provocative for the current situation and that position is of no value to any possible means of disrupting-destroying Irans nuclear program If Lieberman was an education minister not foreign Minister it could have been different
Cuba embargo - yah, that worked... NOT!
An embargo of Iran would entail a blockade of the Straits of Hoemuz. This is an act of war! America sees no need to go to war with Iran. But Lieberman, feel free to convince bibi to initiate a blockade. But you better brush up on your Farci,
Israel gets 3 billion a year in economic and military assistance from U.S depite being a wealthy nation! Is this a biblical obligation too?
When will both Israel and the US realize that the enemy is not Iran, it is China? China is out to eat everyone's lunch, and is doing a pretty good job of it so far. I have no beef with Afghanistan...with Iraq...and not even with Iran. China, however, is another story. They are not a rival, they are not a competitor, they are an economic enemy. Only the Chinese realize it. We are still shopping for cheap knock offs.
Tue guy is even crazier than I thought! By this unfortunate comment, he bought a war with 185 countries that voted for the end of Cuba's blockade for it's illegal to the world's concept of decency!
ow ,you are ture son to ISRAEL ,your comments they are always well on IRAN but,I think we have hit the way and bomb the facilty on our own ,to show we are proud and not following obama adm. Thanks lieberman you have place in israelie hearts
Embargo Israel and Egypt, or at least cut off the aid. Egypt, at least, is poor...Israel is wealthy. Foreign aid should go to poor countries.
Will that be all, Sir? SOMEONE please tell these two (Avig and Danny)to quit making fools of themselves and their government. Everytime Israel seems to start getting some traction with the EU and the U.S., these two pop up with some inane comment like this one (or the episode with the Turkish ambassador). As for Bibi, the charisma's fizzled out.
I agree with the FM because the US embargo on Cuba has been so successful over the last nearly 50 years.
It is Israel that we should "embargo like Cuba." Israel has nuclear weapons, but refuses to join the anti-proliferation agreement, and is engaged in the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from their homeland and enforcing a policy of apartheid in Palestine. Further, Israel as the occupier of the Palestinian Territories has trampled on every important provision of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
It should be Israel the country that has broken all international laws, not Iran or Cuba.
And its Lieberman again, Bibi is not the protagonist in this great government.
US VP and envoy are here?
Yes, we all know what a rip-roaring success that's been. Fifty years of thumbing its nose at the U.S. has made Cuba the hero of Latin America. So let's made sure that Iran has the same status in the Middle East. Another bolt of brilliance from Lieberman!