Europeans & Americans accept that Moscow and Beijing will not let Iran's economy be crippled ...

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Reuters/ here

"Western powers are gearing up for talks on a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program but will not target Iran's energy sector to ensure Russia's and China's support...... the scaling back of the West's expectations for new U.N. steps against Iran for defying Security Council demands to stop enriching uranium shows that the Europeans and Americans have accepted that Moscow and Beijing, with their close trade ties to Tehran, will not let Iran's economy be crippled.

Diplomats said the Western powers are eager to ratchet up the pressure on the Islamic Republic. But they also need to keep Moscow and Beijing on board to send a clear signal to Tehran that the world's big powers are united against it.....

Just a few months ago U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders warned Iran that it could face "crippling sanctions" if it continued to reject U.N. demands about its nuclear program....

A senior Western diplomat said the Western powers had other options independent of the United Nations. Those options would not be symbolic, he said.

He said that if European governments were to forbid Iranian banks from engaging in any transactions in euros, it would have "quite serious consequences" for Iran. Such a measure is both feasible and possible if the "political will" exists in Europe, he added.

Other diplomats said the West could prevent Iran from getting hold of the lucrative technology to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG). Tehran has been eager to acquire LNG technology for some time but has been unable to get top industry players to close deals with it...."

Posted by G, Z, or B at 8:37 PM