As Iran talks again fail, Ros-Lehtinen urges “game-changing sanctions”

By Lauren Appelbaum, Political Director

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Washington, June 19 – Talks on Iran’s nuclear program between Iran and the P5 + 1 ground to a halt Tuesday night in Moscow as no progress was made in resolving the issue.

The P5+1 – Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany – demanded that Iran stop enriching uranium to a 20 percent level, a key step in the process of creating nuclear weaponry. The bloc also asked that Iran ship out existing stockpiles of enriched uranium and close the Fordo complex where much of the suspected nuclear work is thought to occur.

Iran continued to insist that its right to enrich uranium be recognized and that sanctions be lifted.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said that additional talks are a “dangerous diversion” and urged “game-changing sanctions.”

“The P5+1 negotiations with Iran have failed again,” Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement. “More talks are not the answer, but only a dangerous diversion. Time is rapidly running out to stop the nightmare of a nuclear-weapons-capable Iran from becoming reality.”

The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee called for the United States and other “responsible nations” to “abandon the current ‘lather, rinse, repeat’ incremental approach and impose game-changing sanctions to compel the regime to abandon its nuclear program now.”

A new round of sanctions that the EU has in place are planned to begin July 1.