Netanyahu: US House sanctions send ‘clear message’ to Iranian regime
Netanyahu: US House sanctions send ‘clear message’ to Iranian regime | JPost | Israel News.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday warmly welcomed a US House of Representatives decision imposing new, punishing sanctions on Iran, and saying this sent an important message that Iran will not get a period of grace because of the election of Hassan Rouhani.
“Following the Iranian elections the House of Representatives has sent a clear message to the Iranian regime that international pressure will increase until Iran meets its obligations and ceases its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability. We will judge Iran by its actions alone,” he said.
The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday by a commanding 400-20 bipartisan majority to tighten sanctions on Iran’s petroleum sector. The move came just days before the inauguration of their new president, Hassan Rouhani.
Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office said the Congressional move was important because it was the first time an international body has stepped up the sanctions since Rouhani was elected to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June.
Netanyahu has called ever since the elections for the world not to “let its guard down” because of the Iranian elections, but rather to keep up intense pressure on Tehran and not to let the election of someone perceived in much of the West as a “moderate” lead to a relaxation of pressure on the Islamic Republic.
“This is a message to the Iranians that they don’t get a year of grace, that words and smiles will not be enough, and that if they do not want sanctions upgraded, they will have to take tangible measures,” the sources said.
“The timing of this measure is crucial,” the sources said. “These are the first serious measures taken after the elections.”
WarSclerotic 
August 1, 2013 at 5:58 PM
A MUST READ:
The Atlantic: Will Iran Get a Bomb—or Be Bombed Itself—This Year?
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/08/will-iran-get-a-bomb-or-be-bombed-itself-this-year/278253/
August 1, 2013 at 6:39 PM
I vote for choice #3 – Iran already has the bomb.
August 1, 2013 at 7:41 PM
I base my assessment on two very reasonable assumptions.
The Isareli intelligence knows much more about this than you and me.
If Iran had already a bomb we would see a very different Israeli policy.
That’s why I don’t think that they have already a bomb.
For reasonable states the value of nuclear weapons is not so much their actual use but that other states know that you have them so that they are deterred from attacking you.
Unreasonable states like Iran which may use nukes regardless of the consequences for themselves would use them if they had them.
So if Iran was reasonable and had a bomb they would let the world know.
If Iran was unreasonable and had a bomb it would have already used it.
These are the reasons why I believe that they don’t have a bomb yet.
August 1, 2013 at 7:18 PM
I also think that Iran already has a bomb and it was tested in North Korea. Sometime in the near future they will announce that they have developed ICBMs capable of hitting anywhere in the United States and that they have perfected the miniaturization of the bomb so it fits within the ICBM’s warhead. They will also be working on MIRVs to defeat our air defense systems. I am sure that Western and Israeli intelligence agencies already know what they are testing. They must be stopped.
August 1, 2013 at 8:21 PM
That’s my thinking Norm. Before they announce, they need a delivery system in place and probably even second strike capability.
August 3, 2013 at 4:14 AM
More of the same. Yawn