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Bush, EU Threaten Iran With New Sanctions

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The Washington Post

Published: June 11, 2008

KRANJ, Slovenia - President Bush and European Union leaders threatened Iran on Tuesday with new financial sanctions unless the country curbs its nuclear ambitions and opens facilities to international inspection.

Bush, attending the final United States-European Union summit of his presidency, is working against time to secure one of the top foreign priorities of his presidency: halting Iran's presumed ambition to join the global club of nuclear-armed nations and vastly increase its influence and reach.

After a two-hour meeting that touched on Iran and a host of issues, including climate change and trade, Bush and his European counterparts indicated they were prepared to go beyond current United Nations sanctions to try to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon.

The Islamic republic insists its nuclear research and facilities are solely for peaceful purposes. But at the same time, Tehran has stymied international inspectors from verifying the nature of its program.

"Now is the time for there to be strong diplomacy," Bush said after the meeting, appearing with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

A statement from the United States and the European Union said Iran must undertake a "full and verifiable" suspension of its uranium enrichment program and disclose any weapons-related work.

It was unclear whether this second pledge meant Europeans had signed on for the kind of harsh measures the U.S. favors, such as banning business with Iranian banks, or merely represented a repeat of previous calls for closer monitoring of dealings with them.

Iran is under criticism for defying three sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions by continuing to enrich uranium, which can be used for fuel or weapons.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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