US lawmakers plan more sanctions against Iran
Iran Press TV
Sun Nov 10, 2013 6:26PM GMT
US lawmakers are seeking to ratchet up additional sanctions against Iran in a move that is directed at derailing negotiations over a diplomatic solution over Iran's nuclear program.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will move ahead with imposing fresh sanctions despite the fact that Tehran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany are just fresh out of a new round of talks in Geneva over the program.
The so-called P5+1 countries and Iran narrowed their differences with Tehran over the weekend. They however failed to reach an agreement after France blocked a deal with its Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius saying Israel's concerns should be taken into consideration.
British newspaper The Guardian reported that "diplomats at the talks were furious with the role of the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, whom they accused of breaking ranks by revealing details of the negotiations as soon as he arrived in Geneva on Saturday morning, and then breaking protocol again by declaring the results to the press before Ashton and Zarif had arrived at the final press conference."
Guardian added that "some western officials accused France of sabotaging the hopes of a deal to curry favour with Israel and the (Persian) Gulf Arab states."
Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful in nature. The two sides have held two rounds of talks and will meet again in Geneva on November 20.
"I've never been more worried about the Obama administration's approach to the Mideast than I am now," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on CNN's 'State of the Union."
Graham praised France's stance by saying "Thank God for France," he added.
According to Reuters, Graham has also said that US lawmakers will soon introduce a resolution that would call on Iran to turn over all of its highly enriched uranium to the international community and dismantle its centrifuges used in the enrichment process. Based on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has the right to have its own peaceful nuclear enrichment.
Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told NBC's Meet the Press that "we're concerned about an administration that seems really ready, always, to jump into the arms of folks and potentially deal away some of the leverage we have."
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States will not dismantle the "core architecture" of anti-Iran sanctions.
Israel has been fuming over a possible agreement between Iran and the P5+1. It's been trying to sabotage such a deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been campaigning against the deal and called Russian President, British PM and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to promote his position.
Israel's top military official, Moshe Yaalon called the deal a "historical mistake".
Israel's Jerusalem Post claimed in an article that "The US folded during negotiations in Geneva with Iran over its nuclear project."
Reacting to Netanyahu's anger, Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on his Twitter account: "Somewhat strange that Israel PM Netanyahu is able to condemn the possible deal with Iran as "bad" even before it has been done … Irrational that Israel is trying to block efforts to reach a reasonable deal with Iran on nuclear issue. Endless confrontation no policy."
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