The US may act on its own, possibly by tightening economic sanctions, if the UN Security Council fails to move forcefully to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons, the US ambassador to the UN said on Thursday.
The US could strengthen its own sanctions, which were loosened during 1990s, and expand international efforts to halt the transport of nuclear materials and other technologies that could lead to the production of atomic weapons, US ambassador John Bolton said.
"It would be simply prudent planning to be looking at other options," Bolton told a group of reporters in Washington.
Other countries could also move to financially isolate Iran, he said.
Bolton cited resistance from Russia and China on the Security Council as a reason to consider other possibilities for resolving the dispute over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, but reaffirmed the US desire to continue working at the Security Council for now.
The Security Council last month issued an appeal to Iran to comply with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolutions that require Iran to come clean on its nuclear activities, but only after three weeks of difficult negotiations.
The UK, France and Germany, the most influential countries in the EU, have generally supported the US effort to halt Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Bolton said if Iran did not comply with the statement by the end of this month -- the deadline set by the Security Council -- the US will seek a legally binding resolution requiring Iran to comply.
If Iran does not meet that demand, then the US will pursue a second resolution imposing international sanctions "of some kind" against the Islamic republic, Bolton said.
Bolton, in his previous position in the US State Department, negotiated the Proliferation Security Initiative, which consists of dozens of countries coordinating the effort to stop shipments of nuclear materials or other technologies that can lead to the development of weapons of mass destruction.
The US could work within the initiative to keep Iran from pursuing weapons, Bolton said.
Iran says its nuclear activities are purely for producing energy, but the US insists the program is also being used to build a bomb.
US President George W. Bush has not ruled out the use of military force to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear arms, but has pledged to resolve the dispute diplomatically.
The UK, France and Germany, known collectively as the EU-3, have led negotiations with Iran aimed at resolving the crisis, but negotiations ended without a solution last year and Iran in January announced that it would resume uranium enrichment, a step the could lead to building weapons.
The March 29 Security Council statement gave Iran 30 days to stop enriching uranium, but did not outline the next steps if Iran fails to comply.
The statement came after contentious negotiations between the US and Russia, which has been reluctant to come down too hard on Iran.
"The obvious difficulty that we had in taking three weeks ... to get a presidential statement that simply says to Iran, `Obey the IAEA resolutions,' tells us something about the difficulty on the road ahead that we will face at the end of this month," Bolton said, referring to the deadline.
The Clinton administration lifted restrictions on US imports of Iranian pistachios, caviar and rugs in the 1990s in an effort to support democratic reform in Iran.
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
Taiwan’s first African swine fever (ASF) case has been confirmed and would soon be reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) yesterday. The Ministry of Agriculture’s Veterinary Research Institute yesterday completed the analysis of samples collected on Tuesday from dead pigs at a hog farm in Taichung and found they were ASF-positive. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency Animal Quarantine Division chief Lin Nien-nung (林念農) said the result would be reported to the WOAH and Taiwan’s major trade partners would also be notified, adding that pork exports would be suspended. As of Friday, all samples
RSS