White House Seeks New Iran Sanctions

(AP)  The Obama administration is preparing to circulate proposed tough new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program as early as this week at the United Nations, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

The proposed measures, which would target elements the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps under fresh penalties as well financial institutions under existing U.N. sanctions resolutions, are being finalized and prepared for debate in the U.N. Security Council, the officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because discussions on the outline of the sanctions are still ongoing between the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the U.S., Britain, China, Russia and France — as well as Germany and other countries.

The officials would not predict when a vote might take place, but said negotiations on a proposed fourth round of U.S. Security Council sanctions could begin within weeks.

The Security Council has imposed three rounds of sanctions on Iran over suspicions it is hiding nuclear activities and fears that it could retool its enrichment program from making low-grade material to produce nuclear power into producing weapons-grade uranium for nuclear warheads.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton discussed Iran sanctions Wednesday in London with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and was due to have a similar conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Thursday.

Clinton is meeting an array of foreign ministers this week in London, where she and her colleagues are attending international conferences on Afghanistan and Yemen, and in Paris on Friday, where she will deliver a speech on European security.

Accompanying her are senior State Department and Treasury Department officials involved in recruiting support for the new measures.

With Russia, and in particular China, skeptical of any new sanctions efforts, the Americans have to tread carefully to maintain six-power unity on how to deal with Iran.

Taking over the Security Council presidency earlier this month, China said it opposes new sanctions against Iran. Like the U.S., Russia, Britain and France, China, which relies on Iran for much of its energy needs, is a veto-wielding member of the council.

Clinton said she thinks Russia, China and others are coming around to the view that it is time for the Iranian government to face consequences for failing to prove its nuclear program is peaceful.

Russian news services reported after the talks that Lavrov showed some support for sanctions on Iran.

"Clearly, we can't wait indefinitely, and our partners are talking about the need to discuss additional steps in the U.N.," Lavrov was quoted as saying.

Clinton said she was pleased with the responses she was getting, telling reporters that there was a growing belief in the "international community that Iran should face consequences for its defiance of international obligations."

Clinton declined to talk about the timeline for the presenting the outline.

"I am not going to preview or pre-empt what we're doing."

[wdh3007]

Talk is cheap and sanctions do little if anything to Iran's regime actions speak alot louder than words especially when death & destruction is what their leaders seek for their own enemies. As long as their supreme leader & president are alive Iran will continue to be controlled by radical islam.

[Marduk9]

Russia, China and others are coming around to the view that it is time for the American government to face consequences for failing to prove Irans nuclear program is an elaborate cover for making nuclear weapons, like Israel's program.

"Clearly, we can't wait indefinitely, and our partners are talking about the need to discuss additional steps in the U.N.," Lavrov was quoted as saying.

"If the US/UK spies have *real* evidence this time, let's see it" he added. "We all went through this before, with Iraq. The UN Security Council will no longer be part of the 'Oh, we invaded because we thought they were working on nuclear weapons, sorry' trick."

"This is off the record, right ?" he concluded.

[payasyougo]

"White House Seeks New Iran Sanctions"
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More "tough talk".

[CBSisCommunist5]

Oh no - Not sanctions. What is Iran to do ?

[Union76]

Oh' great! That steamy pile called Hillary Clinton plays footsies with a bunch of human rights abusing, Marxist communists to stop Iran's nuke program. What happened to being known by the company you keep? But Hey, Billary used military tanks and helicopters to kill American men, women, and children in Waco, Texas so I don't think she has a conscious anyway. Please pray for the Tibetan people that are being oppressed by their captors; HELLary's friends the communist Chinese.

[sean56v]

Hillary Clinton is rank baboon. Her monkey tactics against Iran will solve nothing. She might try George W.'s strategy of throwing his feces at them.

[obgyn33]

Iran is not a threat to the USA. Korea and Pakistan have Nukes already. Stop gettting our soldiers killed and stop creating enemies just to please small countries who start wars.

[rykatspop]

Ooooooowwwwwwww, scary. We've been doing this since I was a kid. Since the whole embassy hostage thing in 79. We sure know how to scare the pajamas out 'em. Their theocracy will only pass the pain to the people. That's part of our plan to push the revolt, but starvation is about the only thing that will inspire the rebellion. Is that moral? If you've never truly seriously ever been that hungry in your life, then . . . Think Cuba and sanctions. What do we have there?

[jwesel1]

Had you been born 20 years earlier your knowledge of history would have included the overthrow of elected government in Iran by CIA to bring Shah to power.

[Empire-George-]

Wait, what about me ? I'm still Secretary of State you know, not my husband....I know, we'll bring up Iran again....some sanctions...yeah

Iran (laughing out loud)