US Unveils Yet More Iran Sanctions

Israeli DM Warns US to Place Time Limit on Sanctions

by Jason Ditz, June 21, 2010

Top Congressmen today unveiled a broad new collection of sanctions which they intend to impose against Iran, with officials saying the measures could be approved and imposed as soon as this week.

The sanctions would cover not only Iranian companies, but would threaten massive sanctions against overseas busiensses doing business with Iran. It would also expand the US embargo on Iranian goods and encourage state and local governments to divest from foreign businesses that invest in Iran’s energy sector.

The newest sanctions come less than a week after the US Treasury Department announced new unilateral sanctions of its own against Iran, which was itself just a week after the US managed to push UN Security Council sanctions forward against Iran.

Despite the large number of new sanctions against Iran coming in no small part at the behest of Israeli officials, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak today warned the US that they must place a “time limit” on the sanctions, after which they would take some broader, presumably military, action against Iran. Israel has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran itself, though officials have suggested that they would much prefer having the United States attack them instead.

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