AJC Welcomes French, German Resolve on Iran Sanctions

News provided by

Jan 26, 2010, 07:30 ET

NEW YORK, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC welcomed the renewed determination of France and Germany to impose tougher sanctions on Iran as worrying reports emerged of Tehran's progress in weaponizing its nuclear program.

"France and Germany are showing true resolve," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "The U.S. Senate has signaled that it will impose new sanctions on Iran's gasoline imports. An international consensus is emerging. Tehran must be told clearly that the world means business - tough, robust sanctions will do just that."

At a joint news conference with Israeli President Shimon Peres, German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that February would be a "decisive month" for sanctions.

France's Minister for Europe, Pierre Lellouche, told EU colleagues that "talks with Iran have continued for six years now and all of the West's proposals have been rejected. We hope Europe will work together to implement sanctions." France assumes the UN Security Council Presidency on February 1.

The push for fresh sanctions coincides with a report in the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel asserting that Iran has set up a secret agency to develop its nuclear weapons program whose "plans are well advanced."

"This report certainly fits into a well-established pattern of Iranian deceit, as demonstrated by the recent exposure of a secret uranium enrichment facility near the city of Qom," Harris said.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee