Clinton: Iran Proving It Deserves Sanctions

Slams Iranian Refusal to Abandon Civilian Nuclear Program

At a news conference today with incoming British Foreign Secretary William Hague, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that Iran had “proven” the need for sanctions itself by refusing demands to abandon its civilian nuclear program.

Every step along the way has demonstrated clearly to the world that Iran is not participating in the international arena in the way that we had asked them to,” Clinton claimed, adding that Iran would not knuckle under to US demands without additional UN Security Council sanctions.

Clinton likewise repeated US opposition to Brazilian President Lula’s effort to negotiate a diplomatic settlement with Iran, insisting it was doomed to failure. Brazil and Turkey, along with China and Lebanon, have voiced opposition to the US sanctions.

The US has repeatedly rejected Iranian calls for additional talks while claiming the lack of those talks as vindication for the sanctions. But despite US claims that the sanctions are close, opposition to them has remained virtually unchanged within the security council.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.