[Ha'aretz] Barak Ravid - American officials briefed Israel this week on the administration's ideas for intensifying sanctions against Iran if it fails to respond to President Obama's offer of dialogue. U.S. National Security Advisor James Jones indicated that Tehran has until the UN General Assembly in the last week of September to respond. If no satisfactory answer is received, the Americans said, they would work to form an international coalition to impose harsh sanctions on Iran. New sanctions would mainly aim to significantly curb Tehran's ability to import refined petroleum products. The Americans are proposing financial sanctions such as banning insurance on trade deals with Tehran, which would make it difficult for Iran to trade with other countries. They also want to impose sanctions on any company that trades with Iran and use this to pressure other countries, mainly in Asia, to resist making deals with Iran. In the next stage, the Americans will consider banning Iranian ships from docking in Western ports and banning Iranian airplanes from landing in Western airports.
2009-07-31 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive