AJC Urges Maximum Pressure on Iran

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Dec 07, 2010, 02:35 ET

NEW YORK, Dec. 7, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --– As talks in Geneva between leading states and Iran over the latter's nuclear program ended today in a predictable stalemate, AJC urged that maximum economic and political pressure on the Tehran regime be sustained for as long as it defies UN Security Council resolutions over its nuclear activities, particularly uranium enrichment.

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"The Iranian regime was expressing contempt for the talks even before they began, by parading its own concentrated uranium ore – better known as yellowcake – in front of the world's television cameras," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "As Iran's representatives left Geneva, they reiterated their refusal to halt uranium enrichment. We can only conclude, with great regret, that the global threat represented by Iran's nuclear ambitions has not been diminished one iota by this latest round of talks."

The talks between the so-called P5+1, comprising the five permanent members of the UN Security Council along with Germany, and Iran began in Geneva last Sunday. A new round of talks is scheduled to take place in Istanbul in January, but expectations of success remain low in the face of Iran's continued enrichment of uranium.

"Iran's aggressive stance toward its Arab neighbors, its repeated threats to eliminate Israel, and its acquisition of missiles that can reach the European mainland are all factors that must be confronted through rigorous implementation of tough sanctions and a willingness to leave all options on the table," said Harris.

"As the case of North Korea demonstrates so clearly, once rogue regimes acquire nuclear weapons, the entire geopolitical situation changes for the worse and policy options to confront them become far more limited and risky."

SOURCE American Jewish Committee