US threatens Iran with tough sanctions

US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, says “strong and broad-based” sanctions will be imposed against Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.

“Our aim remains to persuade Iran to halt its nuclear program and negotiate constructively and in earnest with the international community,” Rice said on Tuesday after a Security Council session on Iran.

“We remain committed to the dual-track approach (pressure through sanctions coupled with negotiations),” AFP quoted the US ambassador as saying.

“It is a strong, broad-based resolution that will impose meaningful and significant new sanctions on Iran,” Rice told reporters, pointing to a US-proposed sanctions resolution against Iran.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that Iran will hold no more talks on its nuclear program if new sanctions are imposed against the country.

Tehran has repeatedly declared that it will not relinquish the legitimate nuclear rights of the Iranian nation under Western pressure.