[Wall Street Journal] Jay Solomon - The Obama administration and its European allies are setting a target of early October to determine whether engagement with Iran is making progress or should lead to sanctions, said senior officials briefed on the policy. They also are developing specific benchmarks to gauge Iranian behavior. Those include whether Tehran is willing to let UN monitors make snap inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities that are now off-limits, and whether it will agree to a "freeze for freeze" - halting uranium enrichment in return for holding off on new economic sanctions - as a precursor to formal negotiations. President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton have stressed that U.S. overtures toward Tehran won't be open-ended. Should diplomacy fail, the Obama administration has pledged to increase economic pressure. Mrs. Clinton recently testified that the U.S. will impose "crippling sanctions" on Iran if it doesn't negotiate. The U.S. Congress is debating legislation that would require the White House to sanction companies exporting refined petroleum products to Iran. Tehran imports roughly 40% of its gasoline.
2009-05-14 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive