Luxembourg Forum May Recommend Military Sanctions against Iran

At an April 14 press conference in Moscow Mr. Viatcheslav Kantor, president of the Luxembourg Forum commented on developments in relations between the international community and Iran with regard to its nuclear program. In Mr. Kantor's words, "the United Nations Charter states that where economic sanctions do not prove to be effective it is time for military sanctions."
Mr. Kantor went on to say that "Iran's imperial ambitions date back to the reign of Xerxes and today we see them again. Because of this, experts have questions implying recommendations to the international community that the mechanisms for dealing with Iran be altered. First of all, wouldn't it be reasonable to stop anticipating what has already happened and recognize Iran as a nuclear power? This would mean that Iran has to join the nuclear club and undertake the relevant obligations, for which very different deterrence mechanisms apply. Secondly, the world is seeing escalating collaboration with Iran despite the applied sanctions. Maybe it is high time to ban any contracts with Iran, primarily on gas investments." Kantor said he realises that deterrence always leads to some negative consequences, and continued that where economic sanctions do not prove to be effective it is time for military sanctions. When asked if the Luxembourg Forum was recommending military sanctions against Iran, Kantor replied that "the Forum has to decide that. In any event, it would be absolutely legal to use military means to counteract a source of universal threat."
The Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe was established in May, 2007 at the International Conference on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe. The Conference formulated a declaration containing proposals to prevent the collapse of the nuclear weapons non-proliferation regime. One of the major focuses of the Forum was Iran's development of its nuclear program.