US eyes energy, financial sanctions on Iran

The Obama administration is working up plans to push for new sanctions against Iran, targeting its energy, financial and telecommunications sectors if it does not comply with international demands to come clean about its nuclear program, US officials said.

The officials said Monday that the US would expand its own penalties against Iranian companies and press for greater international sanctions against foreign firms, largely European, that do business in the country unless Iran can prove that its nuclear activities are not aimed at developing an atomic weapon.

Among the ideas being considered are asset freezes and travel bans against Iranian and foreign businesses and individuals who do business in those areas, the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the measures were still under review.

The proposed sanctions would largely focus on investment in Iran's energy infrastructure and development, the officials said. Until now, the sanctions have dealt mainly with companies and people suspected of buying or selling weapons of mass destruction or their components.

Diplomats from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – and Germany meet with Iran's top nuclear negotiator on Thursday in Geneva to press once again an offer of incentives for Iran to halt suspect activity.

But US officials familiar with the process that dates back to the Bush administration are skeptical that Iran will agree to demands to fully disclose its intentions. Iran repeatedly has denied it wants the bomb and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Previous meetings – the last in July 2008 – have not made progress and the officials said they did not think Thursday's talks in Geneva would produce any significant developments on the nuclear front.

Instead, the officials said they expected Iran to raise a broad range of global political concerns while the other participants focused on Iran's nuclear program, including the disclosure last week of a new uranium enrichment facility.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the talks, said they believed another round of talks would be scheduled before mid-November, at which Iran would face demands to address the international community's concerns.

If they refuse, the officials said the US and its partners would move ahead with new penalties.

TV: Iran to set time for atom plant inspection

Iran's atomic energy agency chief said Tuesday that the Islamic Republic would soon inform the UN nuclear watchdog of a timetable for inspection of its newly disclosed uranium enrichment plant.

State Press TV said Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, made the comment late on Monday, three days before crucial talks between Tehran and world powers worried about the Islamic state's nuclear ambitions.

Iran's missile tests on Sunday and Monday have added to tension with Western powers.

US President Barack Obama has demanded that Iran come clean on its disputed nuclear program and a White House spokesman on Monday urged "immediate unfettered access" to the new site.

Iran has rejected Western condemnation of the new facility, saying it is legal and open to investigation to the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Press TV, Iran's English-language state television, said Salehi had noted that the plant was under construction within the framework of IAEA regulations, saying "Iran has taken all the precautionary steps to safeguard its nuclear facilities."

Press TV added, citing its interview with Salehi: "Iran says it will soon inform the International Atomic Energy Agency of a timetable for inspection of its recently announced nuclear facility."

"Salehi said that his country will try to resolve the issue both politically and technically with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) and the IAEA," Press TV said on its website.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, told the BBC on Monday he had had a couple of meetings with IAEA inspectors and it was agreed they would be given access to the site "in the near future". He gave no date.

The United States and its Western allies have made clear they will focus on Iran's nuclear program at the Geneva meeting. Iran has offered wide-ranging security talks but says it will not discuss its nuclear "rights."

Washington suspects Iran is trying to develop nuclear bomb capability. Iran, a major oil producer, says its nuclear work is solely for generating electricity.

"It is against our tenets, it is against our religion to produce, use, hold or have nuclear weapons or arsenal, how can we more clearly state our position, since 1974 we have been saying this," Press TV quoted Salehi as saying.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report