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Russia and China block tough
Iran sanctions: U.S.
Mark Heinrich
Reuters
Thursday November 1, 2007
The United States said on Thursday Russia and China had been
blocking tough U.N. sanctions against Iran for months and pledged
a drive to impose them if Iran did not halt nuclear activity within
two weeks.
Iran's president said he was "not worried at all" about
broader economic sanctions, dismissing them as ineffective.
Nicholas Burns, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs,
said China and Russia had been stalling a new United Nations Security
Council resolution since late March.
The five permanent powers on the U.N. Security Council plus Germany
will meet in London on Friday to weigh broader sanctions. Increased
saber-rattling between Iran and Washington is stirring fears of
war if diplomatic pressure fails.
(Article continues below)
Burns, in Vienna for consultations with the U.N. nuclear watchdog
chief, said Iran had been given a grace period since the last
U.N. resolution on March 24.
"Russia and China have been effectively blocking a third
resolution since then," he told reporters. Moscow and Beijing,
two of the five veto-holders on the Council and major trade partners
of Iran, have insisted on more time for diplomacy.
Western powers agreed in September to delay seeking harsher sanctions
after Iran agreed a deal with the watchdog International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) to answer questions about past secrets of
its nuclear work within several months.
The Vienna-based IAEA will issue a report in mid-November.
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INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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