‘US preparing sanctions against Iran’

October 13th, 2009 MOSCOW - Visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said after talks with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Tuesday that neither country is seeking to impose sanctions against Iran under the present circumstances. Clinton said sanctions over Iran's controversial uranium enrichment programme would be premature, and that Russia was being extremely cooperative in the work we have done together on the issue.

October 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US is preparing to push forward with international sanctions if negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme fail, US officials said Tuesday. Deputy Secretary of States James Steinberg told a Senate committee that the United States will be ready to quickly seek UN Security Council sanctions if the ongoing talks with Iran fail to resolve international concerns about its nuclear activities.

October 5th, 2009 NEW YORK - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice on Sunday warned that Iran had to move quickly to prove its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes.

September 30th, 2009 Israel: New Iranian reactor requires new sanctionsJERUSALEM — Israel's defense minister won't rule out a military strike on Iran after the discovery of a secret Iranian nuclear facility. Ehud Barak says severe sanctions must be imposed on Iran following the revelations of the clandestine uranium enrichment plant near the city of Qom.

September 24th, 2009 Israel welcomes Russian stand on Iran sanctionsJERUSALEM — A senior Israeli official welcomes steps by Russia toward endorsing additional sanctions against Iran as a way of stopping its nuclear program. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev opened the door to a firm international stand against Iran.

September 24th, 2009 NEW YORK - US President Obama's biggest foreign policy gamble paid off last night as Russia agreed to join the campaign to impose new sanctions on Iran to halt that country's nuclear programme. Emerging from his first meeting with Obama since the Eastern Europe missile shield was scrapped, President Medvedev of Russia conceded: "In some cases, sanctions are inevitable".

September 23rd, 2009 Russian leader open to new Iran nukes sanctionsNEW YORK — Giving some ground on a top priority of President Barack Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday that sanctions are rarely productive but he opened the door to tougher ones to halt Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program. "In some cases, sanctions are inevitable," the Russian leader said after he and Obama held talks on the sidelines of the U.N.

September 23rd, 2009 NEW YORK - Major world powers Wednesday said they expected a serious response from Iran to the international community's concerns over its nuclear programme when the sides meet for talks Oct 1. US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to keep up pressure on Iran and left open the possibility of further sanctions during a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

September 23rd, 2009 NEW YORK - Russia and the US have agreed to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomatic efforts, but new sanctions still a possibility if Iran does not respond. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he and his US counterpart Barack Obama had given full attention to Iran's nuclear dossier at their meeting and that Russia was ready to continue cooperation with Washington on Iran's nuclear issue.

September 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has accepted Iran's proposal to hold talks, despite the Islamic republic announcing that it would not bring its future nuclear programs on the discussions table. The decision to engage directly with Iran would put a senior representative of the Obama administration at the bargaining table, along with emissaries from five other nations, for the first time since Obama took office, the New York Times reports.

September 12th, 2009 TEHRAN - Tehran Saturday said it was ready to resume diplomatic talks with the West on the basis of its latest proposals regarding global issues, but vowed to make no concessions in the nuclear dispute. "Iran is seriously willing to enter talks with the world powers on the basis of the items mentioned in the latest package," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in a press briefing in Tehran.

August 31st, 2009 BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy Monday called for tougher sanctions against Iran, if the country fails enter talks on its nuclear programme ahead of a September deadline. "We have supported (US) President Obama's outstretched hand to the Iranian leaders, but this hand cannot remain extended indefinitely to leaders who do not respond," Sarkozy added.

August 31st, 2009 Germany, France reinforce Iran sanctions threatBERLIN — Germany and France on Monday reinforced a call for Iran to respond to concerns about its nuclear program in September or face tougher sanctions, and said they wanted wide international agreement on those measures. German Chancellor Angela Merkel pointed to a Group of Eight leaders' agreement in July to reevaluate their position on Iran at a G-20 summit in late September.

July 4th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said the nuclear issues of both Iran and North Korea are different and Pyongyang's activities have raise more concerns than that of Tehran. "I believe that the situation, say, in Iran and North Korea are different ...

July 2nd, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia is opposed to sanctions against Iran over the recent crackdown on protest rallies following the disputed presidential election, the foreign ministry said Thursday. Russia, which has consistently supported Iran in international disputes, was one of the first countries to congratulate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his re-election.