Iran Nuclear NewsRice warns of more sanctions on Iran

Rice warns of more sanctions on Iran

-

ImageReuters: The United States will aggressively impose more sanctions on Iran as long as it refuses to give up sensitive nuclear work and uses the world's financial system for "terrorism," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday.

By Sue Pleming

ImagePALO ALTO (Reuters) – The United States will aggressively impose more sanctions on Iran as long as it refuses to give up sensitive nuclear work and uses the world's financial system for "terrorism," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday.

On a joint trip to California with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Rice told reporters the Bush administration assessed "practically every day" whether to slap more sanctions on Iran.

"We will continue to designate entities as we find them trying to use the international financial system for ill-gotten gains and, yes, we are going to continue to do it and we will continue to do it aggressively," said Rice.

"Iran should not be in a position of using the banking system to pass profits made from terrorism or proliferation," she added.

Iran has been subjected to three rounds of U.N. Security Council sanctions over its nuclear program and last October, the United States designated the elite Qods military force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard a supporter of terrorism.

Washington also imposed sanctions on more than 20 Iranian companies, banks and individuals as well as the defense ministry, hoping to increase pressure on Tehran to stop uranium enrichment and curb what the United States views as terrorist activities. Tehran denies the charges against it and says its nuclear program is to produce energy.

Rice said Iran should expect more of these kinds of sanctions but she declined to provide any timeline.

"We continue to assess it practically every day. (U.S. Treasury Secretary) Hank Paulson and I have very close contact about that. This is not something we do as a political matter. It is something we do because the international financial system has got to keep its integrity," she said.

"It's important that I not get out ahead of any designations (new sanctions) that we might make," she added.

The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia — and Germany, known as the P5+1, are awaiting a green light from Iran for a meeting to present a revised package of incentives.

The offer was first made to Tehran in 2006 to try to get it to give up uranium enrichment for a range of economic and diplomatic benefits. Iran, which is the world's fourth-largest oil producer, turned down those proposals and has so far refused to accept the main Western demand for a suspension of uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for nuclear power plants or atomic bombs.

Rice said if Iran rejected the revised incentives package, it faced more sanctions at the United Nations.

However, the United States would face an uphill battle from veto-wielding Security Council members China and Russia, which oppose further punitive measures against Iran.

Miliband said Iran should not be seen as a victim of some kind of international vendetta, adding, "It is actually the author of its own misdeeds."

(Editing by Frances Kerry and Jackie Frank)

Latest news

 Statistics show that New Year accidents’ deaths in Iran reached 585

Ahmad Shirani, the head of the Information and Traffic Control Center of the Iranian regime’s police, announced that the...

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Must read

Iran’s Crippled Economy

Iran’s economic experts and analysts who have access to...

US escalating covert operations against Iran-report

Reuters: U.S. congressional leaders agreed late last year to...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you