US failed to enforce Iran sanctions: Report

While the White House is trying to convince other countries to impose fresh sanctions against Iran, a new report shows the US has failed to enforce its previous 'complex' sanctions.

The Wall Street Journal, citing a report by the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, said that an analysis of US shipping records show Washington's sanctions against Iran have become so “numerous and complex” that they have become difficult to enforce.

The report says Chinese companies banned from doing business in the US for allegedly selling military equipment to Iran have managed to evade US trade bans.

According to the report, as an example, a unit of state-owned China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corp. (CPMIEC), has made nearly 300 shipments to US firms since a ban was imposed on CPMIEC and its affiliates in 2006.

"We spend a lot of time convincing other countries that we need tighter sanctions on Iran when we need to better enforce our own laws already on the books," says Wisconsin Project Director Gary Milhollin, a former Pentagon consultant.

The fact that CPMIEC and other foreign firms could continue doing business in the US despite the sanctions comes as the Obama administration considers fresh economic sanctions against Iran.

"We have already begun discussions with our partners and with like-minded nations about pressure and sanctions," said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday.

Clinton made the remark as Washington has been pressuring Iran to accept a US-backed UN draft deal which requires Iran to send most of its domestically produced low enriched uranium (LEU) abroad to be converted into more refined fuel for the Tehran reactor that produces medical isotopes.

Iran, however, has not accepted the proposal, calling for "concrete guarantees" for the return of its fuel as some Western countries' have previously failed to adhere to their nuclear commitments with regards to Tehran.

The US has refused to consider Iran's concerns and insists the draft deal which was first proposed by the Obama administration is “unchangeable.”

/Press TV/