{"id":1732,"date":"2007-11-13T23:28:06","date_gmt":"2007-11-13T23:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/politics\/gordon-brown-threatens-iran%e2%80%99s-oil-interests\/1732\/"},"modified":"2007-11-13T23:28:06","modified_gmt":"2007-11-13T23:28:06","slug":"gordon-brown-threatens-iran%e2%80%99s-oil-interests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/politics\/gordon-brown-threatens-iran%e2%80%99s-oil-interests\/","title":{"rendered":"Gordon Brown threatens Iran\u2019s oil interests"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Gordon Brown threatens Iran\u2019s oil interests unless it curbs nuclear ambition<\/h1>\n

<\/span>Philip Webster<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Gordon Brown last night proposed a worldwide ban on companies developing Iran\u2019s oil and gas fields if it failed to curb its nuclear ambitions.<\/p>\n

He promised to take the lead in seeking tougher penalties through the United Nations and the European Union as Britain and the United States seek to increase the pressure on Tehran.<\/p>\n

In his first major speech on foreign policy the Prime Minister said that Iran had a choice \u2013 confrontation with the international community and stringent sanctions against it; or dropping its nuclear plans, ending support for terrorism and having a transformed relationship with the world.<\/p>\n

Unless imminent reports from the EU and the International Atomic Energy Agency suggested movement from Iran, there would be stronger sanctions, including on oil and gas investment and the financial sector. \u201cIran should be in no doubt about our seriousness of purpose,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Although Mr Brown does not rule out military action, and spoke last night about the occasional need for \u201chard-headed intervention\u201d, he clearly believes that the diplomatic route should be followed. Wearing white tie for the first time at a City event, he set out what he called Britain\u2019s \u201cagenda for a hard-headed internationalism\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Lord Mayor\u2019s Banquet at Guildhall, Mr Brown also:<\/p>\n

\u2013 Told America that it was Britain\u2019s most important bilateral relation. \u201cI have no truck with anti-Americanism in Britain or elsewhere,\u201d he said;<\/p>\n

\u2013 Urged President Musharraf of Pakistan to restore the Constitution, release all political prisoners and step down as Chief of Army Staff;<\/p>\n

\u2013 Proposed reform of the big international institutions, including the UN, the G8, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank;<\/p>\n

\u2013 Called for an international standby civilian force, including police and judges, to help to rebuild failed states, with reconstruction and development given equal weight with peacekeeping in international bodies.<\/p>\n

Mr Brown said: \u201cMy approach is hard-headed internationalism: internationalist because global challenges need global solutions and nations must co-operate across borders, often with hard-headed intervention, to give expression to our shared interests and shared values.\u201dIn an apparent reassurance to the US after ministerial criticism of President Bush, he said that Britain\u2019s partnerships were not in competition with each other but \u201cmutually reinforcing\u201d. He said: \u201cIt is no secret that I am a life-long admirer of America . . . and it is good for Britain, Europe and the wider world that today France and Germany and the EU are building stronger relationships with America.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a further reference to Iran, Mr Brown proposed that the active providers as well as the potential users of nuclear materials should be held to account. He suggested agreed access to a nuclear fuel bank to help non-nuclear states to acquire the new sources of energy they needed. But the offer would be made only if those countries renounced nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n

He rejected isolationism and said that it was possible to contemplate a global society that empowered people. \u201cWe cannot any longer escape the consequences of our interdependence. The old distinction between \u2018over there\u2019 and \u2018over here\u2019 does not make sense of this interdependent world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turning to Pakistan, Mr Brown said: \u201cWe call on President Musharraf of Pakistan to restore the Constitution and implement the necessary conditions to guarantee free and fair elections on schedule in January.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don McKinnon, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, last night threatened to suspend Pakistan from the 53-member group, saying that it had \u201cseriously violated the Commonwealth\u2019s fundamental values\u201d. He called for the resignation of Mr Musharraf as army chief, the release of political detainees, the removal of press restrictions, a move towards elections and restoration of the Constitution.<\/p>\n

The Pakistan High Commission in London said that \u201cdecisions regarding the transition will be taken in accordance with Pakistan\u2019s national interests and requirements, not deadlines imposed from outside\u201d.<\/p>\n