U.S. not crippling Iran sanctions

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United States and its allies won approval for the toughest UN sanctions against Iran for refusing to negotiate on its suspect nuclear program - but they're not "crippling" penalties U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed to pursue a year ago if U.S. attempts to engage Iran diplomatically failed.

The big question now is whether the new sanctions will somehow persuade the Iranians to suspend their fast-expanding uranium enrichment program and sit down at the negotiating table with the U.S., China, Russia and other major powers who have offered a package of incentives if they do, AP reported.

Three previous rounds of sanctions failed to get the Iranians into talks and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed Wednesday's fourth round as "annoying flies, like a used tissue."

The latest sanctions were approved by a vote of 12-2, with Lebanon abstaining and Brazil and Turkey voting "no."

Yet, Secretary Clinton said that “Turkey and Brazil could play a role in future nuclear diplomacy with Iran despite having voted against the latest round of UN Security Council sanctions.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said new sanctions will pave the way for tougher additional measures by the U.S. and its allies.

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