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Analysis: Chances slim for stiffer UN sanctions on Iran
UNITED NATIONS - There is little chance that the UN Security Council will impose tough new sanctions on Iran anytime soon, despite a new UN report expected this week to contain evidence suggesting Iran wants atomic weapons.
The reason for this, Western diplomats say, is the reluctance of Tehran’s traditional sympathizers China and Russia, which have the power to veto any council resolution, to sanction Iran’s oil and gas sectors.
As a result, it will be hard to get anything out of the UN that is tougher than the last round of Iran sanctions passed in June 2010.
“The reality is that a new substantive step forward on sanctions will be very difficult,” a senior Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/OpinionAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=244650
14:10 Condoleezza Rice to Newsmax: I have no doubt Israel will defend itself against Iran (Haaretz)
I cannot see Russia/China agreeing to any new sanctions, and even if they somehow did agree in maybe 6 months time after some new revelation, the sanctions are not going to be the effective type that Israel would want anyway.
It might all be irrelevant anyway.
It’s been reported before that Iran may be planning to move all of its 20% enriched uranium to the Qom nuclear site which is under a mountain, before the end of the year.
If they do that then that gives them the option of shutting the doors to Qom any time they like and let the world guess whether they are doing the final step and enriching the uranium to weapons grade.
No conventional bunker buster could do anything about it.
I think Israel would obviously prefer to face the consequences of a conventional pre-emptive strike while it still can rather than wait and be left with facing the consequences of an Israel nuclear first strike against Iran.
The next few weeks could be absolutely critical.