Clear Signals

President Bush signed a bill passed by Congress that directs economic sanctions against countries that are providing nuclear technology or advanced weapons systems to Iran. This would be a rather obvious, pointed warning to Russia and China that there could be repercussions for continuing to block efforts to rein in Iran.

The measure, passed by the Senate Saturday after clearing the House of Representatives a day earlier, came as Iran and the European Union are engaged in delicate negotiations designed to persuade Iran to halt its enrichment work and avoid a major international showdown.

"I applaud Congress for demonstrating its bipartisan commitment to confronting the Iranian regime's repressive and destabilizing activities by passing the Iran Freedom Support Act," Bush said in a statement.

"This legislation will codify US sanctions on Iran while providing my administration with flexibility to tailor those sanctions in appropriate circumstances and impose sanctions upon entities that aid the Iranian regime's development of nuclear weapons," he said.

Mindful of the situation in Iraq, lawmakers warned that nothing in this document should be "construed as authorizing the use of force against Iran."

"My administration is working on many fronts to address the challenges posed by the Iranian regime's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, support for terrorism, efforts to destabilize the Middle East and repression of the fundamental human rights of the citizens of Iran," Bush said.

"We are engaged in intense diplomacy alongside our allies, and have also undertaken financial measures to counter the actions of the Iranian regime," he said.

Although it does not name any countries, the measure is seen as a clear warning to Russia and China, two permanent members of the UN Security Council that have resisted calls for new international sanctions against Tehran in response to its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.

Russia is involved in an 800-million-dollar project to help Iran build a nuclear power plant in Bushehr and sells it modern weaponry. China has been accused of supplying the Islamic republic with advanced missile technology.

"This act also provides important new authority for the administration to block financial transactions related to Iran's weapons of mass destruction programs and encourages the administration to use all available leverage over Russia to gain Russian support for multilateral sanctions against Iran," said US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Economic levers against Russia and China may make them realize that they have much more to lose by supporting Iran than they will gain. The whole world, Russia and China included, have a lot to lose if Iran gets nuclear weapons.