(Washington Post) Colum Lynch - "This is not the right time or right moment for sanctions, because the diplomatic efforts are still going on," China's UN envoy Zhang Yesui said Tuesday as his government assumed the rotating monthly presidency of the UN Security Council. Council diplomats say that China, which is expanding its commercial ties with Iran, has hardened its resistance to sanctions in recent months. The Obama administration has been preparing a package of targeted sanctions against the Revolutionary Guard Corps and other Iranian institutions it deems responsible for acquiring nuclear and ballistic-missile technology. U.S. and European diplomats have acknowledged that China and Russia are likely to approve only the mildest of new sanctions. One Security Council envoy said the U.S. and its Western allies are planning to unveil a second round of their own sanctions against Iranian officials.
2010-01-06 07:41:40Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive