US threatens Iran with ‘severe sanctions’

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Iran faces “severe sanctions” from the US and major world powers over its nuclear program.

Gates noted that US President Barack Obama’s warning last week that Iran’s statesmen would suffer “growing consequences” if they ignored international obligations meant tough sanctions were in the offing.

“I think in the near term it’s more likely to be severe sanctions imposed partly by the UN Security Council and partly by the United States and like-minded countries,” Gates told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.

He did not specify what financial or other sanctions might be imposed on Tehran.

Tehran has repeatedly declared that it will not relinquish the Iranian nation’s legitimate nuclear rights under the West’s pressure.