Exclusive: U.S. to sanction Iran's petrochemical industry

Reuters ^ | Nov.18, 2011 | Arshad Mohammed

[Free ThinkerNY]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States plans to sanction Iran's petrochemical industry, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, seeking to raise pressure on Tehran after fresh allegations it may be pursuing nuclear weapons.

The sources said Washington wanted to send a strong signal after the U.N. nuclear watchdog issued a November 8 report saying Iran appeared to have worked on designing an atomic bomb and may still be secretly carrying out related research.

The sources, who said the sanctions could be unveiled as early as Monday, said the Washington wanted to find a way to bar foreign companies from aiding Iran's petrochemical industry with the threat of depriving them access to the U.S. market.

While European nations typically resent "extra-territorial" U.S. sanctions on their companies, the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in this case the Europeans would likely follow suit, though not immediately.

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[Deagle]

About time! That ought to slow down things at least a couple of weeks!

[capydick]

....after fresh allegations it may be pursuing nuclear weapons.

The IAEA, Reuters, the AP and the Obama administration will continue to use this phrase right up to the time that Iran lights up Israel with one of these alleged weapons.

Then - the phrase used will be "unexpected" or "surprisingly".

[HChampagne]

Perhaps a fuel-Air Bomb over Kharg Island. (Just kidding!)

[jmax]

>>> "Perhaps a fuel-Air Bomb over Kharg Island. (Just kidding!)" <<<<

Kidding ???? Why not? FAE beats the heck out of anything short of nukes. Makes Napalm look like a kitchen match.

[bravo whiskey]

love FAEs. IIRC they have only one gasoline producing refinery in the country and, given current precision munitios, they are easier to neutralize than in ww2.

[jmax]

Kharg is covered with nothing but oil storage tanks. But, if obama placed as many sanctions on Iran as he has placed on T-H-I-S country, those tanks would be dry in 45 days.

[ANGGAPO]

You are right. Iran will not respond to threats or sanctions. Someone is going to have to bomb then into giving having THE bomb. If we let then succeed we will be on their short list of targets. If we had stopped Hitler first there would not have been WWII. We learn the hard way.

[odds]

It isn’t (simply) that Iran won’t respond to sanctions, it is that the West (and others) can’t afford not to sell whatever that the Regime in Iran will buy. It is about customer-supplier business. The economy in the West has been in trouble (look at Europe, and America itself). Loopholes will always be available & it takes 2 to tango for sanctions.

[paulcissa]

We learn the hard way.

You're a generous person. I would put forth that we haven't learned anything from past history. We keep doing the stupid over and over again. Again, the world will need to be rocked by something horrific before America has it's "Duh" moment.