<http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=c08331fb-a148-4e9f-a517-7e1 e822680d8> http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=c08331fb-a148-4e9f-a517-7e1e 822680d8
Bush seeks support for sanctions against Iran WASHINGTON -- U.S. President George W. Bush pushed Monday for international support for swift "consequences" to punish Iran, which said it will today reject demands that it suspend its controversial nuclear energy program. A day ahead of Iran's response to an incentive package designed to halt its uranium enrichment programs, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, said Iran will "proceed with its nuclear program to produce nuclear energy" and accused the West of trying to "stop the progress" of the Islamic state, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. The package of incentives was presented to Iran by the U.S., Russia, China, France, England and Germany on June 6. The package was followed up by a United Nations resolution that calls on Iran to suspend nuclear production by Aug. 31. The UN Security Council fears the technology could be used to build nuclear weapons, while Iran says it is for peaceful purposes. The U.S. president, speaking Monday to reporters, said the world must be united and ready to take swift action if Iran ignores the UN deadline. His comments were clearly aimed at countries such as Russia and China that have closer ties and official diplomatic relations with Iran, which the U.S. does not. "Dates are fine, but what really matters is will. One of the things I will continue to remind our friends and allies is the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran," Bush said, "and it's up to the international community to understand the threat. "In order for the UN to be effective there must be consequences for those who thumb their nose at the United Nations Security Council," Bush added. Some of the incentives are believed to include the lifting of some U.S. sanctions on Iran; limited assistance building nuclear reactors for peaceful purposes; and a guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel. The details of the Iranian answer remain to be seen, but it will reportedly be a nuanced response - accepting some elements of the proposal, rejecting others - rather than a straight yes-or-no answer. It is clear, however, suspension of the country's nuclear program is not on the table. A spokesman for French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said: "We hope ... that Iran will embrace this proposal," but that it was "premature" to speculate what Iran's response would be. A U.S. State Department official said last week if the Iranians do not meet the Aug. 31 suspension deadline, the U.S. would push for sanctions as early as September. The threat of sanctions against the world's third-largest oil supplier pushed the price of crude oil up above $72-a-barrel on Monday as investors anticipated the likely fallout of the dispute. John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, said the most recent developments in Iran sounded like "obstructionism," similar to what he has seen before from the Iranians. "Nothing surprises me about the way Iran treats its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which it's been violating for many years now in its pursuit of nuclear weapons," he said Monday in New York. All of this comes at a time when the country's hardline leaders are staging a week of war games to showcase the might of the country's military, ostensibly a display of power to demonstrate that the country is fully prepared to defend itself against a possible attack. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
