Israel asks Russia for Iran "sanctions with teeth"
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday asked Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to punish Iran by backing "sanctions with teeth" against the Islamic Republic's energy sector.
Netanyahu, who met Medvedev in the Kremlin, is trying to harden the resolve of major powers for additional sanctions against Tehran, which the West suspects is trying to make a nuclear bomb.
"What is needed now is very tough sanctions that can influence this regime and severe sanctions that will considerably and convincingly harm the import and export of oil," Netanyahu told reporters in Moscow after the meeting.
"President Medvedev heard from me my position about the need for sanctions with teeth. They can bite only if they have teeth. Diluted sanctions don't work," Netanyahu said. A spokeswoman for the Kremlin declined to comment.
Iran, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, said last week it could now enrich uranium to more than 80 percent purity, close to levels that would be needed for a nuclear bomb, though Tehran denies trying to make atomic weapons.
Israel, seeing a mortal threat, has hinted it could attack Iran's nuclear facilities pre-emptively if it deems international diplomacy a dead end. The United States on Monday denied it was preparing to attack Iran.
Until recently, Russia had resisted calls by the United States and major European powers for additional sanctions on Iran, but Russian officials have in recent days indicated that Moscow could support a tougher stance.
URANIUM DEAL
Russia -- which wields a veto in the United Nations Security Council -- has been deeply disappointed by Tehran's refusal to send uranium abroad for enrichment in Russia, a deal Moscow hoped could allay Western fears.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Guatemala on Monday that the offer for enrichment abroad "remains in force and we very much hope that Iran will accept it," the Itar-Tass news agency reported.
He said there were various ways it could be implemented, but "they do not change the essence of the offer."
In Washington, a National Security Council spokesman also called on Iran to accept the deal.
"The door remains open for Iran to accept the practical, fair, and responsible proposal put forth by the IAEA last fall that would enable Iran to meet its medical humanitarian needs as well as build international confidence in Iranian intentions," spokesman Mike Hammer said.
Russia has trade ties worth $3 billion annually with Iran -- just under double its trade turnover with Israel -- and is putting the finishing touches to Iran's long-delayed nuclear power station in Bushehr.
"Russia certainly understands there is a need to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and it understands that certain steps must be taken against it," Netanyahu said.
Neither Medvedev nor Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has publicly commented on the Iranian situation for weeks.
China joined Russia in weakening previous sanctions resolutions and has been a weak link in the current push.
After his talks with Medvedev, Netanyahu met about 30 Russian Jewish community leaders.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu told us that the world expects China to agree to sanctions," Pinchas Goldschmidt, chief rabbi of Moscow and chairman of the Brussels-based Standing Committee of the Conference of European Rabbis, told Reuters by telephone.
According to Goldschmidt, Netanyahu said that his Kremlin talks were "very warm" and that "Russia now seems to understand the great danger (of Iran) more than it did before."
Israel has repeatedly asked Russia to scrap a contract to sell an air defence system known as the S-300 to Iran. Netanyahu said he had received assurances from Medvedev that Moscow understood the seriousness of the issues.
"I trust what I heard from President Medvedev on this issue. I know that on this issue Russia is guided by considerations of regional stability," he said. He will meet Putin on Tuesday.
The truck-mounted S-300, which can shoot down hostile missiles or aircraft up to 150 km (90 miles) away, could help Iran thwart any attempt by Israel or the United States to bomb its nuclear facilities.