TOO EARLY FOR IRAN SANCTIONS, EU ASSERTS

BRUSSELS September 1, 2006 (IHT/NYT) - The European Union said Friday that it was too early to impose sanctions on Iran despite Tehran's having defied a UN deadline to halt uranium enrichment.

Speaking at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Lappeenranta, Finland, the Finnish foreign minister, Erkki Tuomioja, said the bloc was determined to use diplomacy to bring Iran into line rather than resort to the sanctions that Washington has pushed harder for in recent days.

"For the EU, diplomacy remains the No. 1 way forward," said Tuomioja, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency. He said at a news conference that "this is not the time or place" for the international community to hit Iran with sanctions.

We don't know what is meant by "place", but we are certain that now is the "time".

EU SAYS GIVING IRAN TWO MORE WEEKS

LAPPEENRANTA, Finland September 2, 2006 (CNN/Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers agreed on Saturday to give Iran two more weeks to clarify its stance on halting sensitive nuclear work after Tehran ignored a U.N. deadline to suspend uranium enrichment.

The United States said on Friday it was consulting European governments about possible sanctions against Iran for intransigence over its nuclear program, but the EU ah already signaled it wanted to see more dialogue with Tehran.

Clarification talks? Huh? Just what is it that remains unclear in Iran's response? Clarify this: What additional concessions is the EU ready to make and how soon and how will this latest climbdown be re-packaged as progress. Oh, yes. It also might be nice to clarify the tough stance the EU will take vis-à-vis a nuclear-armed Iran -- as opposed to the muddled mush it has been slopping vis-à-vis a non-nuclear Iran.

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