Agence France Presse – The United States and three European allies are considering a three-tier system of sanctions against Iran if it fails to comply with UN demands that it stop its uranium enrichment activity, The New York Times said Thursday.
The list would begin with low-impact measures including an embargo on the sale of nuclear-related materials, a freeze of overseas assets and a travel ban for Iranian officials involved in the nuclear program, said officials involved with the talks.
If that failed to persuade Iran, the measures a few weeks later would progress to a broader travel ban and freezing assets of Iranian government members, a senior US official told the daily who requested anonymity, as did the other sources.
Should Iran continue to resist compliance, the sanctions would be ratcheted up to include restrictions on commercial flights and on World Bank loans to Tehran, the official added.
The United States was discussing the proposed sanctions with Britain, France and Germany, the daily said.
The UN Security Council has demanded that Iran suspend all uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities by August 31, amid US-led concerns that Tehran’s nuclear programme is a cover for an attempt to produce an atomic bomb.
The five permanent members of the council — Britian, China, France, Russia and the United States — plus Germany have sought to coax Tehran into suspending enrichment by offering a package of security, trade and technology incentives.
But insisting that its nuclear programme is aimed solely at producing electricity, Iran has made clear it intends to pursue uranium enrichment it began earlier this year. Enrichment makes fuel for nuclear power reactors but can also produce the raw material for atom bombs.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is verifying Iran’s compliance with the August 31 deadline and will be sending a report Thursday to the Security Council, which is expected to declare that Tehran has failed to comply with UN demands.
The United States predicted confidently Wednesday that the council would impose sanctions on Iran within a month.
"I think it’s abundantly clear that Iran has no intention of meeting the deadline and meeting the condition that the countries put down three months ago," Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Burns would meet senior officials from Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany early next week to discuss sanctions.
Discussions on specific language for a possible UN sanctions resolution would take place at UN headquarters in New York involving US Ambassador John Bolton and his counterparts from the permanent members of the Security Council, he said.
