State Dept Praises Israel for Pushing Iran Sanctions

Warns Lack of Sanctions Hurts UN Security Council 'Authority'

by Jason Ditz, April 07, 2010

As the US and its Western allies continue to press for “crippling” sanctions against Iran, the belief that the endless sanction pushes are driven in no small measure by Israel’s long-standing war of words with Iran is ever-present.

But rarely is that belief spoken overtly, particularly by those advocating the sanctions. Yet today an unnamed highly placed member of the US State Department openly praised Israel for being “extremely active” in pressing for the sanctions.

The State Department figure declared that diplomacy “hasn’t worked” and said Israeli comments about the Iranian “threat” were “extremely helpful.” He urged Israel to “keep it up.”

The push for sanctions has stalled, however, as Israeli demands for to cripple the Iranian economy meet Chinese and Russian opposition. The official warned that a failure to pass the sanctions after so many threats to do so would serious damage the UN Security Council’s “authority.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today warned that he didn’t believe the sanctions would work, and warned that it was a “dire” threat to all of humanity. Israel has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran.

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