Obama orders new sanctions on Iran
President Obama speaks at a press conference.
(AP) WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Tuesday ordered new sanctions on Iran's energy sector and on foreign banks in China and Iraq that the U.S. says help the Islamic republic evade international penalties.
The election year sanctions come as Obama combats criticism from Republican rival Mitt Romney, who says the president hasn't acted strongly enough to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Romney is returning from an overseas trip that included Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also expressed doubts about the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions.
The new penalties announced by the White House on Tuesday target China's Bank of Kunlun and Iraq's Elaf Islamic Bank, institutions the U.S. says have facilitated transactions worth millions of dollars on behalf of Iranian banks that are subject to sanctions.
House, Senate push ahead on Iran sanctions
"Today's action makes it clear that we will expose any financial institution, no matter where they are located, that allows the increasingly desperate Iranian regime to retain access to the international financial system," Obama said in a statement.
Obama also expanded penalties on Iran's energy and petrochemical sectors, authorizing sanctions on those who try to purchase oil from the Islamic republic through the National Iranian Oil Co. and the Naftiran Intertrade Co. Earlier U.S. sanctions already penalized entities that purchased oil through Iran's Central Bank.
However, the sting of those sanctions was lessened when the U.S. granted waivers to 20 countries because they had significantly reduced their purchases from Iran. Countries that received waivers for Central Bank purchases will also be exempt from these expanded penalties.
Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, said existing sanctions already have resulted in a significant amount of Iranian oil coming off the market, the Iranian currency has lost nearly 38 percent of its value in the past year and that firms from around the world have divested themselves from doing business with Iran.
Some Republicans, including Romney, and Israeli officials are skeptical about whether economic pressure will persuade Iran to halt its nuclear program.
"All the sanctions and diplomacy so far have not set back the Iranian program by one iota," Netanyahu said this week.
A third set of sanctions announced by the White House on Tuesday targets individuals and entities that help Iran purchase dollars or precious metals like gold in attempt to boost its sagging currency.
Obama's new sanctions come as Congress pushed ahead this week with a new package of crippling sanctions on Iran that target energy, shipping and financial sectors.
"The congressional efforts can be complimentary to what we're doing," Rhodes said, adding that administration officials have worked closely with lawmakers on the legislation.
The West suspects Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon. Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes such as power generation and medical treatment.
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The last CIA report I've seen suggests that Iran is seeking "nuclear capability," rather than "nuclear weapons." Japan (among many other countries) has had "nuclear capability" for decades. Essentially, any country that has a dozen or so talented physics Ph.D.s, a dozen or so missiles, and reactor-grade uranium has "nuclear capability." Anyone who thinks we (or Israel or anyone else) can prevent Iran from attaining "nuclear capability" is a damn fool!
So Romney makes a rearend of himslef when he opens his mouth .....
whereas Obama just DOES THE JOB.
At least that's my take.
So for those that post throughout the day and the evening...especially those espousing the "raised myself by my own bootstraps" type......
Are you all just independently wealthy? Or could it be that you are stealing money from your employers by posting instead of working? Perhaps you have no life or anything else to do (sad)? Or are you paid to post? Just on the dole?
This is a lot of fun, but I just can't believe this many people have this much freetime on their hands.
Instead of getting the job done (ensuring that the Islamofascist Iranian regime's Nuclear Weapons program is halted), the supposed leader of the Western Free World, is playing Mickey Mouse with a regime that intends to eliminate Western Civilisation, impose Strict Islamic Law on the entire world, and by its religious duty, precipitate The Apocalyptic end-of-world scenario.
It's been said that Barack Hussein Obama naively accommodates all sorts of Anti-American and Anti-Western movements, by time-wasting and useless diplomacy. Whether true or not, this is no time for "indecisive passivity" if we are to prevent what is certain to be the most devastating war that the world has experienced since WW II.
Iranian rulers intend to use all their military AND NUCLEAR POWER to usher in the arrival of The Mahdi or Islamic Messiah, whose arrival can only come AFTER Nuclear WW III or The Apocalypse, as their Holy Islamic DUTY.
It is no lessthan certain, that based on Iran's rulers intentions and on their HOLY ISLAMIC DUTY, that country's regime is NOT working in the good interests of Non-Islamic peoples and nations of the world.
Obama2012
Because he puts off today what he can or will never do tomorrow!
The trouble is, he who presses the button had better have solid (and real) evidence, or the ability to change excuses every 10 minutes.
We both know Iran is a threat, but offensive vs defensive -- the US will get no sympathy if it strikes first. And that wouldn't change regardless who is President.
It's all saber-rattling, until one side goes further.