Obama: Iran sanctions to come this spring

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122795§ionid=351020104



The United States is seeking to bring "tough sanctions" against Iran by "this spring," says President Barack Obama.

The US and its Western allies are working together to secure new sanctions against Iran in the UN Security Council over Tehran's refusal to halt its nuclear program.

"My expectation is that we are going to be able to secure strong, tough sanctions on Iran this spring," Obama said in a news conference with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the Czech capital, Prague.

The five permanent members of the Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the US — plus Germany are scheduled to hold a meeting in New York on Thursday to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue.

"Discussions about the sanctions on Iran have been moving forward over the last several weeks. We are going to start seeing some ramped up negotiations taking place in New York in the coming weeks," Reuters quoted Obama as saying on Wednesday.

Washington has recently stepped up its efforts to push other key world powers into voting for new sanctions against the Islamic Republic at the Council.

However, China and Russia have repeatedly urged a diplomatic solution to the country's nuclear issue.

Medvedev, speaking at Thursday's news conference, said, “I cannot exclude that the UN Security Council will have to look into this.”

Medvedev, however, noted that Russia would consult with other world powers to find a solution to the impasse.

"Unfortunately Tehran is not reacting to an array of constructive compromise proposals. We cannot close our eyes to this," said Medvedev.

Tehran, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, has repeatedly rejected accusations that its nuclear program is geared towards military applications, describing the allegations as "baseless" and "politically-motivated."

The UN nuclear watchdog has conducted countless unannounced inspections of Iranian nuclear sites and has found no evidence supporting Western claims.

Mayhem in Athens

By: Barnaby Phillips
Source: Al Jazeera
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/europe/2010/03/05/mayhem-athens


Our Athens bureau overlooks the Greek parliament. It’s a fantastic location, in the heart of the city, close to many important offices and government ministries. It also gives us a grandstand view of the demonstrations that frequently wind through the city centre, and end in parliament square.

These days, as the government pushes ahead with its austerity programme, the demonstrations are almost daily affairs. And, sometimes, like today, they turn ugly.

It was mayhem out there for about half an hour, and we looked down on demonstrators hurling rocks and bottles at the police, who responded with volleys of tear gas. There seem to have been a couple of high-profile injuries. Greek TV showed union leader Yiannis Pannagopoulos being punched, apparently by another member of the crowd. And a prominent figure of the Greek left, Manolis Glezos, was carried away injured, apparently after being tear-gassed in the face.

Mr Glezos's first, and arguably greatest claim to fame, came back in 1941, when he and another student scaled the Acropolis in the middle of the night and tore down the Swastika flag, symbol of the hated Nazi occupation. It was an act of incredible courage, that inspired not only Greeks, but also people across all of occupied Europe.

There’s a certain irony to Mr Glezos being injured today, with the war of words that has broken out between the Greek and German press, much of it alluding to the Nazi-occupation, (see my earlier blog post, Don’t Mention the War), and even some politicians, and with the Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in Berlin for talks with Angela Merkel about the economic crisis. A recent piece in the Guardian has a nice colourful reference to Mr Glezos.

Meanwhile, a couple of important political developments to watch out for here in Greece; an opinion poll for the Skai Television Channel suggests, for the first time, a majority opposed to the new austerity measures.

It’s perhaps a little soon to draw any conclusions, but it’s important to watch what "the silent majority" of Greeks feel. Until now, opinion polls indicated most Greeks supported the government, and agreed that drastic measures needed to be taken.

If that is changing, the pressure on the government will increase. And, another sign that the consensus may be fraying; the main opposition party, the centre-right New Democracy, says it does not support the latest cuts.

The governing PASOK has the numbers in parliament to push legislation through, (and, indeed, the latest austerity plan was approved today) but if the cross-party consensus really is over, then George Papandreou’s position has just become a little bit more uncomfortable.