The Obama Administration is reportedly circulating a new draft of sanctions against Iran. The draft proposes broad new sanctions on Iran’s banking, shipping and insurance industries.
The sanctions were reportedly worked out between the US and other Western nations, but have been rejected by Russia as too harsh. China has yet to respond but has previously expressed opposition to any additional sanctions on Iran.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday said the focus should be on diplomacy with Iran, not sanctions, and that the efforts for a diplomatic solution were far from exhausted.
The State Department had repeatedly insisted that everyone is in favor of the sanctions, despite the mounting evidence that this is not the case. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently conceded that it might take months to convince everyone to support the sanctions.
