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US continues to press for sanctions
over Iran
AFP
Wednesday May 16, 2007
Washington will continue to press for sanctions against
Iran, despite the failure of existing measures to deter Tehran's
controversial nuclear program, US officials said Wednesday, as cracks
began to show in international unity on the sanctions question.
International weapons inspectors on Tuesday confirmed
that Tehran appears to be making steady progress toward its goal
of building 3,000 centrifuges, which could allow it to process enough
nuclear material to build one atomic bomb per year.
The Islamic republic is defying demands and sanctions from the
UN Security Council that it suspend enrichment, and insists that
it only wants to enrich uranium to make nuclear fuel.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in March imposing
sanctions against Iran's missile and nuclear programs after it repeatedly
ignored ultimatums to suspend uranium enrichment.
The world body gave Iran 60 days to suspend enrichment or face
further punitive measures, meaning that the latest deadline will
expire next week.
The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), is to issue a May 23 report on Tehran's nuclear work which
could lead to further sanctions.
Although last year Washington brandished the 3,000 centrifuge-threshold
as a crisis when it garnered support from Beijing and Moscow to
back UN sanctions against Iran, officials now insist that there
is still time for diplomatic efforts to succeed.
"The important thing here is that we have continued to have
sustained pressure on the Iranians," White House spokesman
Tony Snow said.
State Department spokesman Tom Casey echoed that view.
"The fact that Iran continues to move forward in defiance
of the international community's wishes and in defiance of these
efforts is only proof to us that we need to continue to move forward
with our policy," Casey said.
"We need to continue to apply pressure, and in fact increase
pressure with an additional Security Council resolution, if in fact
they don't comply and don't change their minds," he said.
The State Department spokesman added: "We do believe that
we are on the right course, that there is time to resolve this diplomatically,
and that we will, through this combination of pressure and sanctions
... be able ultimately to change their behavior and be able to reverse
this program," said Casey.
European allies, meanwhile, are beginning to question the usefulness
of pursuing sanctions.
If the strategy fails to produce clear-cut results within the next
few months "it will be necessary to ask how we go forward,"
one diplomatic source, who did not rule out military action.
The source said it was unlikely that a change of strategy would
occur before in the next several weeks.
Officially, France, Great Britain and Germany are on record as
rejecting military action against Tehran, and Russia and China are
even more emphatic in opposing force -- an option which Washington
does not rule out.
The issue was likely to come up at a meeting in Germany at the
end of month of global finance chiefs.
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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