Israel Matzav

Change! Obama to step up sanctions against Iran

What a difference a new Congress makes! The Obama administration is now looking at slapping additional sanctions on Iran before the next meeting between the apocalyptical nuclear wannabee and the P 5+1 that is scheduled for next month.

“In the wake of the Geneva talks, we and our allies are determined to maintain and even increase pressure,” Samore said while addressing a Foundation for Defense of Democracies conference. “We need to send the message to Iran that sanctions will only increase as Iran avoids serious negotiations and will not be lifted until our concerns are fully addressed.”

Samore wouldn’t detail what specific steps are under consideration, but several members of Congress have entered new legislation which would take measures such as limiting Iran’s ability to export crude oil and forcing companies to publicly disclose their dealings with Iran.

In addition, many members have been calling for more aggressive enforcement of the sanctions passed by Congress in July, which penalize foreign companies doing certain types of business with Iran.

“Amazingly, the administration has so far sanctioned only one entity,” charged Senator-elect Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) at the FDD forum on Thursday, rattling off a list of two dozen companies he believed qualified for US sanctions.

In the wake of the Geneva 'talks,' maybe it's time to awaken to the reality that the only way Iran will be stopped is militarily, and that while Stuxnet has postponed the day of reckoning, that day of reckoning will still come.

Still, speaking at a panel before Samore, Yaakov Amidror, former head of the IDF's research and assessment division, noted Israel’s deep skepticism that sanctions would succeed in stopping Iran’s nuclear program.

“It’s almost impossible to stop Iran without military force, but we should not rush to use” without having tried absolutely everything else, he said.

In preparation for such a last-resort scenario, he indicated that Israel had drawn up plans for such an attack.

“We’ll be ready,” he said.

But he noted the limitations of Israel’s capabilities, saying that a naval blockade or strikes on targets other than Iran’s nuclear facilities were beyond the capacity of the Israeli military.

Though those types of actions, if taken, would have to be done by America, he stressed that Israel wouldn’t ask the US to undertake a military operation it didn’t perceive to be in US national interests.

“We are not pushing America to take military action,” he said. “Israel is not asking for someone else to do the job of protecting Israel.”

Americans ought to be asking what their government is doing to stop Iran for their own reasons.

Labels: Iran sanctions regime, Stuxnet, Yaakov Amidror

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:16 AM