US Rejects Iran’s “Nine-Step Plan” To End Nuclear Standoff: Report
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The U.S. government has reportedly dismissed a “nine-step plan” proposed by Iran to end Western sanctions over the Islamic state’s nuclear program, claimed the New York Times on Thursday, as protests continue to rumble in Tehran over a shocking 40 percent drop in value of the Iranian currency.
The U.S. government has reportedly dismissed a “nine-step plan” proposed by Iran to end Western sanctions over the Islamic state’s nuclear program, claimed the New York Times on Thursday, as protests continue to rumble in Tehran over a shocking 40 percent drop in value of the Iranian currency.
According to NYT, Iranian officials at the U.N. General Assembly in New York last month had presented their plan to U.S. representatives; but were subsequently rejected, following the belief that the plan would have allowed Iran to “restart the program in a nanosecond” after the lifting of sanctions.
“The way they have structured it, you can move the fuel around, and it stays inside the country,” told a senior Obama administration official to NYT.
[quote]“They could restart the program in a nanosecond…[and] they don’t have to answer any questions from the inspectors,” the administration official said.[/quote]One senior intelligence official added that the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, may be finally feeling the pressure of the sanctions, which are costing Tehran $15 billion in lost energy revenue every quarter and forcing inflation to run as high as 70 percent annually.
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“The (Iranian) currency is dropping like a stone, there are riots, and Obama has harangued [Israeli leader Benjamin] Netanyahu not to bomb because there is time to economically cripple Iran,” told Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, to the Wall Street Journal.
[quote]”So if the economic cripple-date occurs before the nuclear red line, then great, economic warfare may work.”[/quote]Under the proposed plan from Iran, the Islamic state would gradually end its uranium enrichment at one of its two sites aside the dismantling of certain Western sanctions. Iran would also only “suspend” its uranium production at Fodow deep underground site once all the sanctions were removed and oil revenues began flowing back into the country.
Obama administration officials say the deal is intended to generate headlines, but would not guarantee that Iran cannot produce a weapon. They added that the U.S. will only agree to lift sanctions if Iran immediately halts uranium production at all its enrichment facilities and ship existing stockpiles out of the country.
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also sought to deflect criticism that the Western sanctions were harming the lives of the average Iranian citizen.
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“They (Iran) have made their own government decisions – having nothing to do with the sanctions – that have had an impact on the economic conditions inside of the country,” Clinton said.
[quote]”Of course, the sanctions have had an impact as well, but those could be remedied in short order if the Iranian government were willing to work with. . .the international community in a sincere manner.”[/quote]
