“If we’re serious about pursuing diplomacy, there’s no need to add new sanctions on top of the sanctions that are already very effective,” Obama told a White House news conference, adding that Washington can “dial those sanctions right back up” if Iran fails to comply with an agreement.
Members of the US Congress have voiced support for additional sanctions after intense talks in Geneva between Iran and six major world powers – including the United States and Russia – to limit Tehran’s nuclear ambitions ended without an agreement on Saturday.
The “basic structure” of the conversations envisions Iran halting advancement of its nuclear program in exchange for “very modest relief at the margins of the sanctions that we’ve set up,” Obama said.
“Let’s see if this short-term, phase-one deal can be completed to our satisfaction,” he said.
Tehran offered last month to stop enriching uranium to 20 percent in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, starting with its banking industry and oil exports.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that Iran tentatively agreed to a US proposal for limiting its nuclear program but backed out of the deal after last-minute changes during the Geneva talks, though he did not disclose which nation wanted to make the changes.
Iran insists its nuclear program is aimed at generating power for civilian purposes.
ria.ru
14/11/13
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Iran’s decision to break off dialogue with P5+1 may put to test nuclear talks...
ReplyDeleteVIENNA, December 13. /ITAR-TASS/. The Iranian delegation’s decision to suspend negotiations with the six world powers in Vienna, taken several hours after the United States announced the introduction of punitive measures against a number of companies and persons for the violation of the sanctions regime against Iran, is “a bad sign” for the dialogue on the Iranian nuclear program, a diplomatic source told Itar-Tass.
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/711455
13/12/13
Obama will block the bill on the new U.S. sanctions against Iran ....
ReplyDeleteUS President Barack Obama intends to veto the Congress bill that proposes new sanctions against Iran, the White House announced on Thursday.
US lawmakers with the support of senators from both the Republicans and the Democratic parties intend to impose sanctions against Tehran if the country violates the interim nuclear agreement signed in Geneva.
At the same time, White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the sanctions are not necessary and it is very important to refrain from actions that could jeopardize the solution of Iranian nuclear issue through diplomatic channels.
Read more: http://indian.ruvr.ru/news/2013_12_20/Obama-will-block-the-bill-on-the-new-U-S-sanctions-against-Iran-5823/
20/12/13
US Jewish groups support new Iran sanctions bill.....Legislation includes support for an Israeli strike, should Israel take ‘military action in legitimate self-defense’....
ReplyDeleteA number of major Jewish organizations welcomed the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act as complementary to diplomatic initiatives and called for even greater Senate support for the bill, which faces an uphill battle against the administration.
“We believe a diplomatic solution to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capacity, a threat to the entire world, is vital. We stand firmly with President Obama as he and our P5+1 allies seek to negotiate a comprehensive agreement,” said Michael Siegal, chair of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) Board of Trustees.
“We recognize economic sanctions have been successful in bringing Iran to the negotiating table, as well as in expressing the resolve of the global community,” Siegal added. “The threat of additional sanctions, with the appropriate Presidential waivers in this legislation, ensures that Iran knows this and all other options are on the table should negotiations fail.”
Supporters say the bill preserves presidential authority by allowing the president to waive future sanctions either by certifying Iranian compliance with the interim agreement reached in Geneva, or in the event that a final agreement is reached. At the same time, it sets basic terms for a deal, mandating that a final arrangement must dismantle Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
JFNA representatives emphasized that the Senate bill is in line with a resolution passed last month by the Jewish Federations, in which the body called for the “complete dismantling of Iran’s capability of producing nuclear weapons.”
The Jewish Federations encouraged Senators to co-sponsor the legislation, and to swiftly pass it upon their return to Washington in January...............http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-jewish-groups-support-new-iran-sanctions-bill/
20/12/13
'No need' for new Iran sanctions: Obama....
ReplyDeleteWASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has said there is no need to impose new sanctions on Iran because current negotiations have a good chance to halt the country's controversial nuclear programme which has been a challenge to America's security for over a decade.
"There is no need for new sanctions legislation, not yet," Obama told a White House news conference yesterday.
Obama said that Iran has agreed to actions that will let other nations determine whether it is trying to weaponise nuclear materials. The president said he would support tougher sanctions later if Iran violates the agreement.
"On Iran, there is the possibility of a resolution to a problem that has been a challenge for American national security for over a decade now, and that is getting Iran to, in a verifiable fashion, not pursue a nuclear weapon," Obama said.
He asked the Congress not to impose new sanctions against Iran and give current diplomacy a chance to work.
"Even with the interim deal that we struck in Geneva, we had the first halt and, in some cases, some rollback of Iran's nuclear capabilities - the first time that we've seen that in almost a decade," he said, referring to the recent deal with Iran by the US-led group of six countries.
"We now have a structure in which we can have a very serious conversation to see is it possible for Iran to get right with the international community in a verifiable fashion to give us all confidence that any peaceful nuclear program that they have is not going to be weaponised in a way that threatens us or allies in the region, including Israel," Obama said.
His comments came a day after White House press secretary Jay Carney warned for the first time that Obama would veto any new sanctions legislation Congress enacts before the interim deal with Iran expires.
Obama said keeping aside the current prospect for a diplomatic resolution would increase the chances of a military conflict over the issue and warned lawmakers that the war-weary American public is in no mood for that.
"Now, I've been very clear from the start, I mean what I say: It is my goal to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. But I sure would rather do it diplomatically," he said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/No-need-for-new-Iran-sanctions-Obama/articleshow/27706672.cms
21/12/13
Obama repels new Iran sanctions push, for now ...
ReplyDeletePresident Barack Obama appears to have prevailed, for now, in a campaign to stop Congress from passing new sanctions on Iran he fears could derail nuclear diplomacy.
Several Democratic senators who previously backed a bipartisan sanctions bill publicly stepped back after Obama threatened a veto during his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Several sources familiar with behind-the-scenes maneuvering on the bill say a number of other Democratic senators signed up for more sanctions had privately recoiled from a damaging vote against their own president.
The developments appear, in the short term, to have checked momentum behind the bill, which had appeared headed for a veto-proof majority in Congress.
“I am strongly supporting the bill but I think a vote is unnecessary right now as long as there’s visible and meaningful progress” in the negotiations, Senator Richard Blumenthal told AFP, after first expressing reservations earlier this month.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons made a similar declaration at a post-State of the Union event hosted by Politico.
“Now is not the time for a vote on an Iran sanctions bill,” he said.
Another Democratic Senator, Joe Manchin, now hopes Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will not bring it up.
“I did not sign it with the intention that it would ever be voted upon or used upon while we’re negotiating,” Manchin told MSNBC television.
“I signed it because I wanted to make sure the president had a hammer if he needed it and showed him how determined we were to do it and use it if we had to.”
The White House mounted an intense campaign against a bill it feared would undermine Tehran’s negotiators with conservatives back home or prompt them to ditch diplomacy.
Obama aides infuriated pro-sanctions senators by warning the measure could box America into a march to war to halt Tehran's nuclear program if diplomacy died......http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/01/30/Obama-repels-new-Iran-sanctions-push-for-now-.html
30/1/14