Brazil rebuffs US pressure for Iran sanctions

Brazil will not bow to pressure from the US to support further sanctions against Iran over its nuclear work, the country’s foreign minister has said.

Celso Amorim told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Brazil wanted to see further negotiations on the issue before it would support sanctions.

Mrs Clinton said that sanctions had to be passed first in order to persuade Iran to “negotiate in good faith”.

The US fears Iran is developing nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

At a news conference with Mrs Clinton in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, Mr Amorim said: “We will not simply bow down to an evolving consensus if we do not agree.

“We have to think by ourselves and with our values and principles,” he said.

Like Lebanon, Brazil is a non permanent meber of the UN security council.

BBC