Netanyahu: Immediate Sanctions on Iran
Netanyahu: Immediate Sanctions on IranIsrael news photo

Prime Minister Binyamin said on Monday that an embargo should be independently placed against Iran’s energy sector if the United Nations Security Council does not immediately agree to stiffer sanctions.

If the world "is serious about stopping Iran, then what it needs to do is not watered-down sanctions, moderate sanctions ... but effective, biting sanctions that curtail the import and export of oil into Iran," the Prime Minister said in a speech to the Jewish Agency Board of Governors.

"This is what is required now. It may not do the job, but nothing else will, and at least we will have known that it's been tried. And if this cannot pass in the Security Council, then it should be done outside the Security Council, but immediately."

Iran’s limited oil refining capacity requires it to import 40 percent of its refined gasoline needs. Russia and China have so far stymied American-led efforts to place harsh sanctions on Iran, although Russia now is thought to be ready to remove its opposition, leaving China the only holdout. Each of the six permanent members of the Security Council has veto power, and China, like Russia is a key supplier for Iran’s nuclear projects.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s remarks came shortly after Iranian Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi, who also is in charge  of Iran’s nuclear program, announced that Iran will build two more uranium enrichment plants under the country’s mountainous areas, making it virtually attack-proof.