Iran 139

'Iran Braces for War
// The US Stockpiles Bombs and Allies

Representatives of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, plus Germany, met in London yesterday to discuss means of resolving the Iranian nuclear crisis. Now that Iran has yet again refused to stop enriching uranium, the Group of Six discussed the possibility of introducing harsher international sanctions. If pressure on Tehran does not yield results, the Bush administration does not rule out the possibility of military strikes against Iran. Preparations for that eventuality are apparently already going ahead full throttle.
"The Train of the Iranian Nation Has No Brakes"The consultation in the British capital between deputy foreign ministers from the six world powers that are trying to stop an escalation of the Iranian nuclear crisis took place behind closed doors. The format of the London meeting did not offer the assembled representatives of the US, Great Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia (Russia's representative was Sergei Kislyak) the opportunity to adopt any final resolutions. It was reported on the eve of the meeting that the diplomats would be discussing a raft of new, harsher sanctions against Iran before dispersing to their home countries to meet with their leaders and to report on the positions of the other members of the Group of Six regarding possible goads for Tehran after Iran snubbed the carrot proffered by the international community. February 21 was the expiration date of the two-month UN ultimatum delivered to Tehran by the UN Security Council last December in the form of resolution #1737, which called on Tehran to stop enriching uranium. Given that the sanctions included in the resolution have had no effect at all on the position of the Iranian side, the Group of Six is faced with the question of what additional levers can be employed to bring sufficient pressure to bear on Tehran.That the members of the Group of Six so far have no ready answers to the question of how to make Tehran return to the negotiating table was confirmed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. On the eve of the London talks, Mr. Lavrov told Russian President Vladimir Putin that "the Iranian leadership so far is not giving satisfactory answers to the IAEA's questions" and that the participants in the consultation in the British capital were facing "a difficult task." Yesterday a senior British diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the Group of Six would consider cutting off $20 million in European trade credits to Iran. The sanctions under consideration also include an embargo on the delivery of arms to Iran and a ban on international travel for Iranians with ties to the nuclear program.'

Lees verder: http://www.kommersant.com/p745646/Iran_nuclear_crisis/