US, allies hit Iran with fresh sanctions

The Obama administration yesterday launched a new offensive in its initiative to clamp an economic squeeze on Iran. The US, through a formal designation of the country's entire financial sector a ''money laundering concern,'' sought to discourage companies from doing business with Iranian banks.

The unusual measure was introduced after US officials announced fresh sanctions against Iran's oil industry and added more Iranian companies and individuals to the numbers blacklisted, from trading with Americans. The White House, however, did not go to the extent of imposing sanctions directly on the Central Bank of Iran, as called for by some US lawmakers.

Canada, Britain and France followed up with similar and in some cases, stiffer measures in a concerted effort to inflict economic pain for Iran on new allegations of secret efforts by Iranian scientists to acquire technology for nuclear weapons.

Secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton said the message was clear - if Iran's intransigence continued, it would face increasing pressure and isolation. She announced the measures at a news conference with treasury secretary Timothy F Geithner.

Asserting that the White House favoured ''engagement'' with Iran, she warned that the pressure would be increased if its leaders failed to take steps to curb the country's nuclear programme.

She added that the actions taken today did not exhaust the administration's opportunities to sanction Iran.

Meanwhile, Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that Iran was ready to increase cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency if it readjusted its attitude toward Tehran.

Salehi, speaking to the media on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Sunday, dismissed as ''ineffective'' the documents released by director general Yukiya Amano on 8 November in support of his contention that Iran appeared to have been working on designing an atomic bomb.

The IAEA was not allowed to release documents against a country and such a thing is unprecedented in the history of the agency, Aftab News quoted Salehi as saying.

Salehi said the agency had made a mistake in publishing documents that lacked authenticity, and added that the agency's chief did so under pressure from western governments, and he would realise his mistake in the future.   

''However, our efforts are to maintain our good relations with Amano. We view the agency as the only legal authority in regard to the nuclear activities of the member states and do not want damage to be done to its reputation. The disrepute of the agency will create a vacuum in regard to non-proliferation and will put it in danger. Our efforts are (aimed at) safeguarding the credibility of the agency. We hope that Mr. Amano will appreciate this very goodwill of Iran and the fact that Iran, despite all the pressures and injustices, is making efforts so that the agency's reputation is not sullied,'' he added. 

The Iranian foreign minister also said, ''In future, we will see that the agency will modify its approach toward Iran, and it will have no other option. And we are ready to cooperate with the agency more than before on condition that the agency readjusts its attitude and acts according to the statute and safeguards agreement. In this case, we are ready to continue our cooperation as before or even increase our cooperation.''