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| Down Under |
| Australia warns Iran on sanctions |
| 2006-09-22 |
| FOREIGN Minister Alexander Downer has warned his Iranian counterpart that momentum is growing for Tehran to face sanctions if it doesn't stop its rebel nuclear program. Mr Downer has been in New York for a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, where Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been defending his country's nuclear ambitions. Mr Downer met Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki this week, describing their exchange as "pretty lively". "I made the point to the Iranian foreign minister that we expected Iran to comply with Security Council resolutions that it's been subjected to and to comply with the requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency as far as Iran's nuclear program is concerned," he said on ABC radio. "There was quite a long argument about whether Iran should or shouldn't. "But I suppose the take out from all of that is that there is going to be a further meeting in the next week or so ... between the EU negotiator ... and the Iranian negotiator on this nuclear issue." Australia has flagged possible financial sanctions against Iran even without UN backing. Mr Downer believes momentum is growing for action against the nuclear rebel. "As I explained to the Iranian foreign minister, the pressure is really building now in New York for some form of sanctions to be introduced on Iran if they aren't able to negotiate a satisfactory way through this nuclear issue, and that in particular involves suspending the enrichment program," he said. |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #1 Good on you, Downer. Now, with momentum building, is there any hope for banned ice cream sandwiches in this century? |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-09-22 03:30 |