US Senators Seek ‘Crippling’ Iran Sanctions

Letter Urges President to Ignore UN Security Council

In a letter cosigned by nine US senators, President Barack Obama is urged to apply “crippling sanctions” on Iran immediately, warning that failure to do so imperils the entire planet as well as his credibility.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is using the London Conference on Afghanistan tomorrow as an opportunity to meet with other foreign minister and pressure them for support on sanctions in the UN Security Council. She expressed optimism that a “consensus” was growing on new sanctions.

But the letter slams the idea of moving forward in the Security Council, noting that China holds the rotating presidency for the rest of the week and is unlikely to support the sanctions. The letter cautions that it is unacceptable to wait until France takes over the presidency next week to move against Iran.

Instead they insist that Congress and past UN resolutions have given the president ample authority to move unilaterally on more sanctions against Iran, and demanded that he do so immediately.

The letter also served as a condemnation of China, who they declared was not “a responsible stakeholder in the international system” because they do business with Iran, and cautioned that US relations with China could be seriously damaged by their objection to sanctions.

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.