U.S. expected to extend waivers on Iran sanctions to India, China

[Vikrant]

(Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is likely to renew waivers on Iran oil sanctions for India, China and several other countries as soon as Wednesday, in exchange for their reducing purchases of crude from the Islamic Republic, two government sources said.

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U.S. expected to extend waivers on Iran sanctions to India, China | Reuters

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - sanction the schlitz outta `em fer Ammerjabberjab's past sassiness...

New sanctions likely despite thaw in US-Iran ties
Oct 2,`13 WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. lawmakers from both parties have expressed a willingness to give President Barack Obama's outreach to Iran a chance to end to Tehran's nuclear standoff with the West, but at the same time they are crafting tough new U.S. economic sanctions to further isolate the Islamic republic.

Obama's phone call last week to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was a groundbreaking conversation. It was the first contact in more than 30 years between the leaders of the two countries and an about-face from when Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, included Iran in his "axis of evil" with North Korea and Iraq. Obama wants Rouhani to prove that he's willing to curtail some of his country's uranium enrichment activity, which many believe is being used to give Iran nuclear weapons capability.

Rouhani said Wednesday in Tehran that Iran is open to discussing "details" of its nuclear activities to reach a deal with world powers. He emphasized Tehran's longstanding position that Iran has a fundamental right to enrich uranium, a key ingredient of nuclear weapons that Iran says it needs for peaceful purposes. But his statement was a veiled hint that Iran is open to negotiate on the level of uranium enrichment as part of a deal in return for lifting of sanctions. "Iran's enrichment right is not negotiable, but we must enter into talks" to see what the other side proposes, he said in remarks after a meeting with his Cabinet. Rouhani said Iran had drawn up a "precise plan" to present later this month at the next round of talks with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany.

The U.S. engagement with Iran, meanwhile, is straining relations with Israel, a key American ally. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech Tuesday at the United Nations that the new Iranian president was conducting a "charm offensive." Iran and Israel see each other as arch enemies. Tehran does not recognize the Jewish state, and supports anti-Israeli militants like Lebanon's Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas. But while Israel is reaffirming its hard-line stance against Iran, the sentiment in Washington's political circles has softened.

Five years ago, Obama the presidential candidate was hit with criticism for suggesting talks with the Iranians without preconditions. Then during his re-election campaign, Obama was called weak on Iran. Now, even leading Senate hawks, including his 2008 opponent, John McCain of Arizona, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, have backed Obama's careful engagement effort. They say it is worth testing Iran's seriousness even if they're skeptical about Rouhani's new course of moderation and disdainful of Tehran's human rights record and alleged support for terrorism.

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Rouhani: Iran to discuss nuke details, not rights
Oct 2,`13 -- President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that Iran is open to discussing "details" of nuclear activities including the enrichment of uranium, hinting that the Islamic Republic is willing to broaden the terms of negotiations with world powers. He spoke shortly after receiving support from a wide range of legislators for his policy of reaching out to the West.

Rouhani emphasized Tehran's longstanding position that its fundamental right to enrich uranium, a key ingredient of nuclear weapons that Iran says it needs for peaceful purposes, is not up for discussion. But his statement was a veiled hint that Iran is open to negotiating on the level of uranium enrichment as part of a deal in return for lifting of sanctions. Rouhani was elected this summer with the backing of centrists and reformists, pledging a new approach to relations with the West. During a visit to New York for the U.N. General Assembly last week, he held a historic phone conversation with President Barack Obama, a gesture aimed at ending three decades of estrangement between the two countries.

In his remarks Wednesday after meeting with the Cabinet, Rouhani said Iran has drawn up a "precise plan" to put on the table at the next round of talks with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany in Geneva later this month. "Iran's enrichment right is not negotiable but we must enter into talks to see what would the other side proposes to us about the details," he said. Uranium enrichment is a technology that can be used to produce nuclear fuel but further enrichment makes it suitable for use in nuclear weapons. The U.S. and its allies fear that uranium enrichment could be used in developing a nuclear weapons capacity. Iran says its program is peaceful and geared toward generating electricity and producing isotopes to treat cancer patients.

Foreign ministers of Iran and the six-nation group - the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China - met in New York last week in a first meeting since Rouhani was elected president in June. The next round of talks will be held Oct. 15-16 in Geneva. Rouhani has reached out to the West, hoping that his policy of moderation and easing tensions with the outside world will lead to a nuclear deal. Over 230 lawmakers, out of a total of 290, signed a statement Tuesday to endorse Rouhani's policy of détente and interaction, signaling that he enjoys support from both moderates and conservatives within the ruling establishment.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, has supported a strategy of "heroic flexibility" in foreign policy, opening the way for Rouhani's outreach. Rouhani reiterated Iran's pledge that it's not seeking nuclear weapons, and that it will keep its nuclear facilities open to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog group. "This is our principle: to keep doors of our nuclear facilities open to IAEA inspection," he said. "We have nothing to hide. Our record is clean and our hands are open." Iran is living under U.N. sanctions as well as tough U.S.-led oil and banking sanctions that have slashed oil exports by half and shut Tehran out of the international financial system.

Rouhani said he was not surprised to see Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing anger at Iran's "charm offensive." Netanyahu on Tuesday called Rouhani "a wolf in sheep's clothing" and accused the leader of being "a loyal servant of the regime" who has done nothing to stop Iran's nuclear program since he took office in June. "Such remarks show that we are moving in the right direction," Rouhani said. "When Israel sees that its sword doesn't work and that wisdom has prevailed in the world and that the Iranian people's message of peace is heard . they definitely get angry."

News from The Associated Press