In Case You Missed It: "Now Is Not The Time To Be Loosening Anything"
UANI, ISD, featured in The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, The Guardian, Jerusalem Post, YNet News
Iran: Advocacy Groups Join in Drive to Tighten Sanctions
By Rick Gladstone
May 17, 2012
An American advocacy group that has successfully pushed for strict sanctions against Iran joined with a prominent European research organization to press for further economic penalties against Iran over its disputed uranium enrichment program.
The partnership, between United Against Nuclear Iran in New York and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue in London, is to be announced Thursday and will "collaborate on research, education, policy and action initiatives in Europe and beyond," the groups said. Their effort comes as Iran, hurting economically, is claiming progress in talks over the dispute with major powers and demanding a loosening of the sanctions as a sign of good faith ahead of a negotiating session in Baghdad on May 23.
"Now is not the time to be loosening anything," said Mark D. Wallace, the chief executive of the American group, who is to testify at a Congressional hearing on Thursday.
Click here to read the piece on The New York Times's website.
Tough Talk: Stricter Sanctions on Iran Urged
May 17, 2012
Prominent lawmakers and Middle East experts on Thursday urged Washington to enact stricter sanctions on Iran, with one former senior diplomat urging "the most robust sanctions in history."...
"The consequences to Iran have been significant," former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Mark Wallace told a House panel Thursday. "Iran's [currency] has been in free-fall, a reliable indicator of the economic impact of sanctions."
Still, Wallace called for bolder steps.
"With bold action, we still have an opportunity to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions," Wallace said. "We must seek the most robust sanctions in history, and we must consider much more than tweaks to current sanctions."
Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said economic sanctions "are inflicting damage on Iran's long term oil production potential." What's more, she said "sanctions on Iran's oil industry and banking system are curtailing the foreign partnerships that the Iranian oil industry has relied on.
But Ros-Lehtinen echoed Wallace, saying "more remains to be done." ...
Click here to read the full article.
Meir Dagan supports call for total sanctions on Iran
Ex-director of Mossad and other former intelligence chiefs call for 'most robust sanctions against Iran in history' to avert war
By Harriet Sherwood
May 18, 2012
A clutch of former intelligence chiefs and diplomats have joined forces to press for more stringent sanctions against Iran to deter the Islamic republic from pursuing its nuclear programme, warning that the alternative is a military conflict.
They include Meir Dagan, a former director of the Mossad, former CIA chief James Woolsey and former chief of staff of the British armed forces Charles Guthrie. Dagan is already on record as saying an Israeli military strike on Iran is "the stupidest thing I ever heard".
In a comment piece for the Wall Street Journal, they argue that "the world faces a stark choice. Our near future carries the risk of a military conflict with Iran, or a nuclear arms race in the already volatile Middle East.
"It is still possible to avoid these outcomes, but only if like-minded nations act immediately to deliver a potentially decisive economic blow to the regime."
Existing sanctions are having a tangible impact, say the authors, citing the "freefall" of Iran's currency, the rial. But now the international community must "truly isolate the regime".
They say this means "passing the most robust sanctions against Iran in history".
They propose four measures:
* all Iran's financial institutions must be severed from the international banking system;
* Iran should be denied access to international shipping;
* companies must be required to disclose all investments and business transactions in Iran;
* insurance companies operating in Iran should be prohibited from doing business in the US and EU.
"History has made clear that the regime will never change course due to half measures; only serious steps like we've outlined have a chance of success. With Iran finally feeling real impact from international sanctions, now is the time to increase the pressure," write the authors.
The article comes ahead of next week's talks in Baghdad between Iran and the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany. Its other signatories are August Hanning, former head of Germany's intelligence agency; Kristen Silverberg, a former US ambassador to the EU; and Mark Wallace, a former US ambassador to the UN. ...
Click here to read the full article.
Dagan joins call for tougher sanctions on Iran
Former intelligence chiefs and military experts say in 'WSJ' op-ed that stronger sanctions best way to avoid military strike.
By Herb Keinon
May 18, 2012
Former Mossad head Meir Dagan, who since leaving office last year has been outspoken in his opposition to an Israeli strike at this time on Iran, joined two other former intelligence heads, one American and the other German, in writing in The Wall Street Journal Thursday that crushing new sanctions need to be imposed against Tehran.
"As the Iranian regime races to fulfill its nuclear ambitions, the world faces a stark choice," read the article.
"Our near future carries the risk of a military conflict with Iran, or a nuclear arms race in the already volatile Middle East. It is still possible to avoid these outcomes, but only if like-minded nations act immediately to deliver a potentially decisive economic blow to the regime."
In addition to Dagan, the piece was signed by former German intelligence chief August Hanning and former CIA head James Woolsey, as well as Charles Guthrie, the former chief of staff of the British armed forces; former US ambassador to the EU Kristen Silverberg; and Mark Wallace, the head of a group called United Against Nuclear Iran and a former US diplomat at the UN.
The group said that with stringent financial sanctions against Iran recently imposed by the US and EU, including actions by the Swift international banking consortium to block access to Iranian banks and the European ban on Iranian oil to go into effect on July 1, now was the time for further sanctions on four key areas to convince the Iranians of the world's determination.
The steps include completely cutting off Iran from the international banking system, requiring business to disclose all investments and transactions with Iran, denying Iran access to international shipping and prohibiting insurance companies that do business with Tehran from doing business in the EU and US.
"We cannot state with certainty that sanctions and pressure will compel the Iranian regime to change course," the piece read.
"But it's common sense that before undertaking military action against a country, we should first try to dissuade it from its current course by applying decisive economic pressure. Doing so will show the regime that the world is serious and committed, willing to do whatever it takes to stop Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons."...
Click here to read the full piece.
Dagan, ex-CIA chief: Sanctions might stop Iran nuke program
Editorial penned by top diplomats, intelligence officials from Israel, UK, US and Germany calls for 'most robust sanctions in history' to avoid military conflict with Tehran
By Yitzhak Benhorin
May 17, 2012
A "potentially decisive economic blow" to the regime in Tehran could stop Iran's nuclear program, according to an editorial penned by diplomats, intelligence officials and military officials from Israel, Germany, Britain and the US.
The article was written by former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, former head of the CIA James Woosley, German intelligence chief August Hanning, former chief of the United Kingdom's defense staff General Charles Guthrie and two American diplomats - Kristen Silverberg and Mark D. Wallace.
According to the article, it is possible to avoid a military conflict with Iran, or a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, by passing the "most robust sanctions against Iran in history." Such sanctions, the officials claimed, "would truly isolate" Tehran.
The officials based this rationale on "strong empirical evidence from the last few months that sanctions are having a tangible impact. For example, the value of Iran's currency, the rial, is currently in free fall."
The editorial was published shortly after a UN report revealed that "sanctions are slowing down Iran's ability to acquire some critical components that are necessary for its prohibited nuclear program. At the same time, it is continuing its forbidden activities, including uranium enrichment."
The experts propose decisive action in four key areas: The Islamic Republic must be fully denied access to the international banking system; companies should be required to disclose any and all investments and business transactions in Iran; the international community must deny Iran's access to international shipping; and insurance and reinsurance companies that operate in Iran should be identified and prohibited from doing business in the US and the EU.
"It's common sense that before undertaking military action against a country, we should first try to dissuade it from its current course by applying decisive economic pressure. Doing so will show the regime that the world is serious and committed, willing to do whatever it takes to stop Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons," they wrote.
The editorial said the most crippling sanctions to date were denying Iran access to the international banking consortium Swift and the decision by countries to ban or significantly curtail oil imports from Iran.
"History has made clear that the regime will never change course due to half-measures; only serious steps like we've outlined have a chance of success. With Iran finally feeling real impact from international sanctions, now is the time to increase the pressure," the officials wrote.
Click here to read UANI & ISD's Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, "Total Sanctions Might Stop Iran."
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