INTERVIEW-U.S. said pressing Europe to exceed U.N. sanctions
13 Jan 2007 16:36:05 GMT Source: Reuters
By Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Europe, Russia and China should follow the U.S. lead and take other measures beyond recently enacted U.N. sanctions to pressure Iran to abandon its nuclear program, including curbing arms sales and trade credits, a senior U.S. official said. Sanctions adopted last month by the U.N. Security Council, although weakened under pressure from Russia and China, have value because they make Iran one of only 11 countries in the world under mandatory sanctions, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns told Reuters in an interview. Nevertheless, "We would encourage other countries -- European countries, the EU (European Union), Japan -- to consider stronger sanctions than were in the security council resolution," he said on Friday. "There are billions of euros of export credits available to European countries from their governments to encourage trade with Iran" that could be curtailed, he said. Also, Burns said, "There are arms sales from Russia and China to Iran which we think are not right given the fact that Iran is a country under Chapter 7" of the U.N. Charter dealing with mandatory sanctions. Burns' comments underscore an intensifying U.S. effort to isolate Iran over concerns about its nuclear ambitions, growing interference in Iraq and support for extremist groups like Hizbollah. "Iran needs to respect us and understand that we will push back here as you've seen us push back," Burns said, referring to raids this week by American forces in Iraq against suspected Iranian operatives in that country. Although weaker than Washington wanted, the U.N. sanctions could enhance the overall U.S. anti-Iran campaign. The administration began testing this on Tuesday when it accused Iran's oldest bank -- state-owned Bank Sepah -- of transferring Iranian missile payments to North Korea and barred it from conducting business in dollars. OUTSIDE U.N. U.S. officials acted under an executive order signed by President George W. Bush in 2005. The officials argued that the U.N. resolution -- approved 15-0 in December -- mandates all states to move against Iranian facilitators of weapons of mass destruction, and this should mean using national laws to enforce U.N. sanctions broadly, as Washington did. The resolution, number 1737, requires that countries freeze the overseas financial assets of 10 Iranian companies and 12 individuals on a target list. The administration has long threatened that absent strong U.N. sanctions, it would act outside the U.N. system to contain Iran. Four months ago, Washington cut ties with another major state-owned Iranian bank, Saderat. Bank Sepah has branches in London, Paris, Rome and Frankfurt, but so far governments there have not acted against Sepah, despite U.S. entreaties. Burns said Europe may not immediately tighten financial restrictions on Iran but its position will evolve. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will discuss Iran on a Mideast trip that began on Friday. Burns said that in the next two weeks he and Undersecretary of Treasury Stuart Levey also would intensify their efforts to engage Europe and other major countries on this issue. Burns will host European counterparts for consultations in Washington on Wednesday, with Iran a main topic. He and Levey, who leads U.S. efforts to combat terrorist financing, will visit the Mideast, including Israel, and the Gulf next weekend for talks on Iran, which many regional states view as a rising threat. Burns held out the possibility that the security council could yet adopt a second tougher sanctions resolution if Iran continues to defy the world body by enriching uranium -- a process key to bomb-making. But many U.S. and European officials doubt that could pass, absent some dramatic provocation by Iran.
