http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/sanctions/ en-us Sun, 3 Jan 2010 08:53:00 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419880/posts The Obama administration says the internal unrest in Iran and signs of unexpected delays in their nuclear program make the Iranian government especially vulnerable to swift and serious sanctions, the New York Times reported on Sunday. An administration official said current circumstances "give us a window to impose the first sanctions that may make the Iranians think the nuclear program isn't worth the price tag." Despite the political unrest, Iran's political and military leaders are remaining steadfast in their determination to develop nuclear weapons, advisers to U.S. President Barack Obama said. But the unrest coupled with the Iranian government's internal... Haaretz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419880/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 08:53:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418660/posts The United States' ultimatum on diplomacy with Iran ends as 2010 begins, leaving the Islamic republic facing US President Barack Obama's threat of looming sanctions. But according to a report in Channel 10 Thursday evening, the US is seeking to tone down its rhetoric and impose partial sanctions against specific institutions of the regime. While the catchphrase so far has been "crippling sanctions," the efforts to stymie Iran's nuclear race during 2010 will be labeled "targeted sanctions," according to the report. The US is watering down the sanctions, the report said, because it doesn't want to alienate the Iranian opposition,... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418660/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:19:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418432/posts The Obama Administration and its European allies are currently looking at a menu of "focused sanctions" on Iran and its leadership. A month ago they were obsessing over China and Russia's cooperation on indubitably innocuous U.N. Security Council sanctions. In both cases, they have the wrong target in mind. Security Council resolutions and focused sanctions serve as public relations window-dressing. Europe is the key to any meaningful behavior-modifying sanctions on Iran. The continued focus on Russia and China's intransigence is allowing Europe to stay under the radar. Iran has been under three Security Council sanctions in the past decade, while... WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418432/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:03:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417062/posts The US administration is heading towards placing "paralyzing" sanctions on Iran, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Michael Oren said Tuesday. Speaking to Army Radio, Oren added that although it was "too early," the US had also not yet abandoned the military option. "The Americans attribute the highest importance to the Iranian issue," he said during the interview. "The US, along with other countries, is preparing to impose paralyzing sanctions on [Iran], and preparations are happening even now." Oren went on to reject claims that US President Barack Obama was trying to downgrade relations between Washington and Jerusalem, saying, "The man is... The Woodward Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417062/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:15:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-rlc/2412613/posts Last week the House overwhelmingly approved a measure to put a new round of sanctions on Iran. If this measure passes the Senate, the United States could no longer do business with anyone who sold refined petroleum products to Iran or helped them develop their ability to refine their own petroleum. The sad thing is that many of my colleagues voted for this measure because they felt it would deflect a military engagement with Iran. I would put the question to them, how would Congress react if another government threatened our critical trading partners in this way? Would we not... U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, 14th District http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-rlc/2412613/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:24:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410124/posts /begin my excerpts Thai Jet Fighters Forced down the Plane Carrying N. Korean Arms Kwon Kyung-bok 2009.12.18 04:19 A Russian daily reports. The IL-76 freighter plane of Georgian registry which got caught while transporting N. Korean arms did not land on Thailand for refueling, but was forced down to land by Thai fighter planes after entering Thai airspace, according to Dec. 17 report by Russian daily Kommersant. The paper reported that, as soon as the IL-76 plane which left Pyongyang entered Thai airspace, two Thai jet fighters intercepted the plane and order it to land on Don Muang Airport in... Chosun Ilbo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410124/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:17:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408835/posts The House voted overwhelmingly to implement new sanctions against Iran in retaliation for its saber-rattling over building a nuclear weapons arsenal. By a 412-12 vote, lawmakers approved legislation that would penalize foreign companies that sell oil to Iran or help the country with its oil-producing capacity. While Iran is a major crude oil producer, its lack of ability to produce enough gasoline and other refined petroleum products is a major economic vulnerability. With no Senate action on the legislation expected this year, the House vote was for the time being mainly a warning that the United States is ready to... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408835/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:35:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408527/posts The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation on Tuesday to impose sanctions on foreign companies that help supply gasoline to Iran, a move lawmakers hope will deter Tehran from pursuing its nuclear program. The bill authorizes President Barack Obama to levy sanctions on energy companies that directly provide gasoline to Iran along with the firms that provide insurance and tankers to facilitate the fuel shipments. The Senate is likely to approve a similar bill, but it is uncertain how soon it will vote. HaAretz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408527/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:46:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408505/posts God Bless those enterprising, digging Japanese journalists and their film crews.A hot one in North Korean black weapons smuggling case was captured for all of Japan to see last night at the 11 p.m. TV news on NNN Network.The pushy and curious Japanese journalists and cameramen with their long lenses (and fluent Farsi and Korean speaking investing staff in Tokyo), discovered some VERY interesting things about the North Korean aircraft stopped this week in Thailand with Ukranian crew flying weapons in violation of US sanctions. The flight crew has been very tight lipped, but the Japanese journalists nevertheless caught some... NNN (Nihon Television) Network, Japan (Evening News) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408505/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:54:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405879/posts BRUSSELS – European Union leaders on Friday urged international action against Iran because of its refusal to cooperate over its nuclear program, as the threat of new sanctions looms. WSJ/AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405879/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:02:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266439/posts Fidel Castro called the case of two Americans accused of spying for Cuba "strange" Saturday and questioned whether the timing of their arrests was politically motivated. In an essay read by a newscaster on state television, the former Cuban leader noted that the retired Washington couple were taken into custody just 24 hours after the Organization of American States voted to lift a decades-old suspension of Cuba's membership in that group. Though the U.S. ultimately supported the OAS vote Wednesday, the administration of President Barack Obama initially wanted to see more democratic reforms on the communist island before Cuba was... AP via Breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266439/posts#comment Sun, 7 Jun 2009 02:08:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2389887/posts President Obama took his “Do as I say, not as I do” routine to dizzying international heights today, demanding that Iran cease its “foot-dragging” over whether or not to comply with demands to halt development of its nuclear program... He made the demand while continuing to drag his own feet on whether or not to provide more troops in Afghanistan, something he’s been mulling over since last summer. Expect B-list “actress” Janeane Garofalo to be a featured guest on Bill Maher’s show soon to remind us, once agian that if the world criticizes Mahmood Ahmadinejad for taking his time, it’s... Grand Rants http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2389887/posts#comment Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:44:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2385719/posts Whatever Happened to Sanctions? Malcolm A. Kline, November 13, 2009 It’s interesting that the same worthies on campus who clamor to disinvest from Israel have yet to endorse sanctions on Iran. It should be noted that, as Claire Lopez points out in a report for the Center for Security Policy, the Iranian government employs a Washington lobby whose primary purpose is to get sanctions lifted on the renegade regime.... AIA FL Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2385719/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:00:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2385667/posts Iranian Preconditions Sarah Carlsruh, November 13, 2009 “Can the United States Affect Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions?” was the topic of the Cato Institute’s November 3rd forum. Matthew Duss, National Security Researcher at the Center for American Progress, focused on the diverse and factionalizing environment within Iran, arguing that on June 12th, the date of Iran’s tenth presidential election, “the game changed.” Duss identified a trend where, post-June 12th, “large sections of the clerical establishment [are breaking] away from the regime.” Iran’s green movement, the pro-democracy movement which was triggered by June’s disputed elections, is diverse, claimed Duss: Some want a reform... American Journalism Center http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2385667/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:23:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383488/posts Mideast: For a nation supposedly eager to avoid sanctions, Iran has an odd way of showing it: stalling, threatening to execute Americans and parading around Caracas with Hugo Chavez. Are they serious? Are we? As international sanctions loom, we keep hearing Iran wants to accept a deal from the International Atomic Energy Agency on enriched uranium to assure the world its nuclear program is peaceful. The deal calls for Iran to ship 70% of its somewhat-enriched uranium to France for higher refinement. The higher-grade uranium would then be recast by the French for civilian purposes. Supposedly, this will assure the... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383488/posts#comment Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:40:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363421/posts Legislators are growing increasingly frustrated with President Barack Obama's seeming unwillingness to pull the trigger on an Iran sanctions package that is already locked and loaded. The American public should be frustrated, too. The Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (IRPSA), if enacted, would put the squeeze on foreign oil companies that currently help the Mullahs refine petroleum, as well as the insurance companies that underwrite this trade. If the sanctions work, they could stem the flow of 30 to 40 percent of Iranian oil, since the Mullahs don't actually have sufficient refining capacity to meet their domestic needs. In short,... Jewish Policy Center http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363421/posts#comment Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:13:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361471/posts What was the bottom line of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov? America’s punting on a request for sanctions on Iran, as the Washington Post reported (and Jennifer discussed)? Or was it instead a case of “Russia Resists U.S. on Iran Sanctions,” as the Associated Press reported? Of course, both amount to the same thing. Clinton’s statement that it wasn’t yet time for sanctions on Iran to pressure it to stop its nuclear program is merely an admission that the administration’s plan to gain international support for restraining Iran is dead in the water.... Commentary Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361471/posts#comment Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:19:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361346/posts All the diplomatic pillow talk about “cooperation” and “encouragement” is cover for Obama’s Russia gambit’s having gone down in flames. Smiling through failure is becoming the default occupation of the Obama State Department, and no one seems more enthused to be at the center of the wreckage than Hillary Clinton. She is pure spin, no success... Commentary Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361346/posts#comment Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:01:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361343/posts US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday sought to present a united front with Russia on the Iranian nuclear crisis, saying there was not yet any hurry for new sanctions against Tehran. On her first trip to Russia as chief US diplomat, Clinton praised Moscow for its "extremely cooperative" behaviour in the standoff over Iran's programme, which Western nations fear is a veiled attempt to build a nuclear bomb. Aides had said ahead of her visit that the trip was partly aimed at winning Russian support for eventual sanctions against Tehran if diplomacy did not work. But Clinton denied... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361343/posts#comment Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:56:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2358086/posts Iran's oil minister has warned companies that sell gasoline not to halt deliveries to the Islamic Republic in response to Western sanctions moves, saying they would be dropped from its list of suppliers. The United States and its European allies are exploring ways of targeting fuel imports into Iran if the country continues to press on with its nuclear program. "If the suppliers of gasoline avoid exporting it to Iran...they will be eliminated from the National Iranian Oil Company's list of suppliers," business daily "Abrar-e Eqtesadi" quoted Oil Minister Massud Mirkazemi as saying. Iran, the world's fifth-largest crude oil exporter,... Radio Free Europe/ Radio Farda http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2358086/posts#comment Fri, 9 Oct 2009 03:03:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2356358/posts Obama administration officials at a Senate hearing Tuesday refrained from backing proposed Iran sanctions legislation or giving a deadline for Teheran to halt uranium enrichment during its negotiations with the US and other world powers. Yet US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said that "we would be prepared to move ahead swiftly and effectively with additional [sanctions] measures" if the talks, which he stressed were not open-ended, failed to bear fruit. He expressed skepticism over Iran's intentions, saying the administration was "realistic" about the prospects of engagement; he later said that Iran's initial gestures are "the first concrete evidence... The Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2356358/posts#comment Wed, 7 Oct 2009 00:48:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2352310/posts Iran's traditional emblem has been the Persian lion. Russia's should be a vulture: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin intends to feed on the carcass left by any confrontation with Iran. For Moscow, this crisis isn't about Tehran's acquisition of nukes. It's about Russia's acquisition of a stranglehold on global energy markets. Putin's playing with fire -- but he's sure we'll be the ones burned. As for the Obama administration's desperate (and stunningly naive) hope that economic sanctions can deter President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and his fellow thugs-for-Allah from pursuing nuclear weapons, forget it. NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2352310/posts#comment Thu, 1 Oct 2009 10:04:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2349622/posts Defense Secretary Robert Gates Says Severe Sanctions On Iran Could Work Gates says additional sanctions may force an economically squeezed Iran to change its nuclear policy. He questions the value of military strikes. By Paul Richter September 27, 2009 Reporting from Washington - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today the severe sanctions the West is threatening against Iran could force a change in the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions, especially since the country is already under severe economic distress. Speaking as officials from six world powers prepare to meet with Iranian negotiators this week to discuss Tehran's nuclear program, Gates... LATimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2349622/posts#comment Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:08:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2348978/posts Although Bejamin Netanyahu and Gordon Brown both had much longer distances to travel this week than President Obama, each managed to bring something along that POTUS didn't: a pair of testicles. After the revelation that Iran has been jerking the international community's chain over nukes, it seemed like the perfect time for President Obama to feel safe engaging in a little meddling. Despite the offer of a loaner pair from Brown, Obama responded in classic fashion, hitting the New Revised Milquetoast Dictionary for a response that didn't sound too, you know, leader-like. There's a discernible difference between a cautious approach... Stephen Kruiser http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2348978/posts#comment Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:38:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2348058/posts PITTSBURGH, Sept. 25 -- President Obama and the leaders of France and Britain on Friday blasted Iran's construction of a previously unknown uranium enrichment facility and demanded that Tehran immediately fulfill its obligations under international law or risk the imposition of harsh new sanctions. "Iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow," Obama said, detailing how the facility at Qom had been under construction for years without being disclosed, as required, to the International Atomic Energy Association. "International law is not an empty promise." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown accused Iran of "serial deception" that he said "will shock... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2348058/posts#comment Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:02:32 GMT