- BRUSSELS (Reuters) -- A leading U.S. senator warned Russia and China on
Friday of damage to their relationship with the United States if they refused
to go along with sanctions against Iran.
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- Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona
told a Brussels conference that Iran's nuclear program posed the greatest
security threat to the world alongside terrorism.
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- The U.N. Security Council should impose
sanctions including an investment ban, a travel ban and asset freezes on
government leaders and nuclear scientists, McCain said.
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- Asked what consequences there would be
if Moscow and Beijing blocked such a move, he told reporters: "Clearly
it's going to affect many areas of cooperation between our two countries.
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- "There will be a reaction in the
U.S. Congress."
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- McCain, a potential White House contender
in 2008, said he could not be specific that the areas affected could include
trade.
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- The world's nuclear watchdog said on
Friday Iran had flouted a U.N. Security Council call to suspend uranium
enrichment and was speeding up its program instead, spurring Western powers
to urge tougher U.N. action.
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- President Bush said he wanted peaceful
persuasion to prevail. Iran's president has vowed to spurn any U.N. resolution
to stop its professed quest for fuel for atomic power stations -- a front
for bomb-making in Western eyes.
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- McCain said the United States must not
rule out military action against Iran as a last resort, saying: There's
only one thing worse than military action and that's a nuclear-armed Iran."
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- McCain did not rule out the possibility
of direct U.S. talks with Tehran or Washington's involvement in multilateral
negotiations with Iran.
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- He said Bush had made clear he would
explore every possible option and that could include "six-party talks,
four-party talks, two-party talks."
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- McCain added he was not trying to tell
the administration what to do.
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- He said that military action would be
very complicated but the United States could not risk a nuclear Iran exterminating
Israel.
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- © Reuters 2006. All rights reserved.
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