In Case You Missed It: UANI's Samore and Wallace Quoted By The New York Times on Extension of Interim Agreement and Nuclear Negotiations

In Case You Missed It: UANI's Samore and Wallace Quoted By The New York Times on Extension of Interim Agreement and Nuclear Negotiations
P5+1 should "agree on decisive sanctions that would constitute a virtual economic blockade of Iran should Iran fail to agree to an acceptable deal"

 

Staying the Course on Iran by Threatening Pain and Offering Relief

 

By David Sanger
The New York Times
July 20, 2014

 

Behind President Obama's decision on Friday to extend the Iran nuclear negotiations for four more months is a calculation that the administration has the mix of pressure and incentives just about right: That by keeping the most damaging sanctions, but giving Tehran a taste of what access to its overseas cash reserves might mean, a deal is possible.

 

Congress, and some nuclear experts pushing for a harder line, strongly disagree. It was overwhelming sanctions, and the pressure of covert action against Iran's nuclear program that brought the country to the table, they argue. To get a final deal, they contend, the formula is simple: More sanctions, more pressure, and behind it all the lurking threat of military action. ...

Mr. Zarif, in an interview, argued that the sanctions Congress is so proud of have been counterproductive. Before they began in earnest, he said, Iran had 200 centrifuges installed in its facilities; now it has 22,000. More pressure, he contended, will only drive Iran's leadership to more defiance. Some in the Obama administration agree, saying there is a "sweet spot" in sanctions where the continuing, gnawing pressure of oil, gas and financial sanctions, which they vowed Friday night to continue, would take their toll, and the prospect of relief would create political pressure in Tehran for a deal.

But Gary Samore, President Obama's former top adviser on eliminating weapons of mass destruction, took a harder line on Friday night. Now the president of United Against Nuclear Iran, an advocacy group, Mr. Samore and the organization's chief executive, Mark D. Wallace, argued that to get the leverage the administration needs it must "make clear that Iran remains closed for business and that the uncertainty surrounding these nuclear negotiations makes the business climate in Iran far too risky" for Western capital to re-enter.

And, they contended, the negotiating partners should go farther and "agree on decisive sanctions that would constitute a virtual economic blockade of Iran should Iran fail to agree to an acceptable deal" in the next four months.

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here to read UANI's Statement on the Interim Agreement Extension.
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here to view UANI's Geneva Interim Agreement Tracker.

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