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Nations Diverge on Pressing Iran

(Wall Street Journal) Jay Solomon - A day after the UN's nuclear agency said it had uncovered extensive evidence that Tehran has been developing the technologies needed to produce nuclear weapons, Russia on Wednesday formally vowed to block any move at the UN Security Council to impose new sanctions against Iran, saying it wasn't convinced by the new intelligence presented by the IAEA. The French government called for "unprecedented sanctions" against Iran and a new Security Council resolution condemning its nuclear advances. In recent days, U.S. officials have played down the chances of sanctions on Iran's central bank - viewed as the principal conduit for Iranian oil sales - arguing they could drive up global energy prices and hurt the American economy. But they haven't outlined any alternative measures that might be taken and have played down the likelihood of the UN Security Council playing a role due to the opposition from Moscow and Beijing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said, "The significance of the [IAEA] report is that the international community must bring about the cessation of Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons which endanger the peace of the world and of the Middle East." "We need to show to the Israelis that there's a sense of seriousness," said a European official. "And the U.S. is going to be key to achieving this." Senior Iranian defense officials threatened to attack Israel's principal nuclear site at Dimona if Israel initiated any military action against Iran. "We will witness Israel being wiped off the map," said Brig. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of Iran's armed forces.
2011-11-10 00:00:00
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