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New Sanctions Needed If No Progress in Iran Talks

(Ha'aretz) David Harris - The Obama administration wants Congress to hold off on additional sanctions, at least for a few months, while testing Iranian intentions. But for Israel, such an approach sends the wrong signal to Tehran. Jerusalem sees no change from Iran on the litmus-test issues: spinning centrifuges, plutonium reprocessing, ballistic missile development, complicity in war crimes in Syria, and massive human rights violations at home. On Nov. 3, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei called Israel an "illegitimate, bastard regime." In the U.S. Senate, some leading Democrats and Republicans think that since sanctions brought Iran to the table in the first place, more sanctions will keep it at the table and make compromise on the big issues more likely. It would send a clear signal that, while the U.S. is prepared to negotiate earnestly, as long as there is no clear evidence of Iran's change of behavior, the sanctions will continue to be tightened. There needs to be a reminder that things will get still worse for Tehran if nothing changes soon on the ground, and that elaborate efforts on Iran's part to buy time just won't wash. The writer is the executive director of the American Jewish Committee.
2013-11-05 00:00:00
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