CE 3/4

Source - BBC news
Date 3/3/2010
section- Americas
Who is involved- Brazil, United States, Iran, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Summary
Brazil has told the U.S. it will not support sanctions on Iran with regard to the Iranian nuclear program. Brazil has requested the U.S. negotiate more on the issue with Iran before sanctions, while our government believes sections are necessary to ensure Iran will "negotiate in good faith".
A large part of the disagreement between the two countries is if Iran is actually developing nuclear weapons, a concern that Brazil is not quite sold on.

Part of the reason sanctions supported by Brazil against Iran would be so important is due to the good relationships between the two countries.
The U.S. is looking for a fourth round of UN sanctions against Iran over it's continued enrichment of uranium, which is claimed to be for use in future nuclear power reactors.

Significance
This article ties into the complexities of international law, such as that in the U.N. It demonstrates the difficulty in dealing with a country that has ties to a "problem" country, while still accomplishing your own goals at the same time.
As for the significance to the U.S, this shows how tricky it may be to get countries to enforce sanctions on others they have good relations with, despite relative international consensus that they are necessary.
Personal opinion
I think Brazil's unwillingness to support sanctions has more to do with the benefits of continuing their ties with Iran and less to do with what is morally right, or whether or not a nuclear program actually exists.

article

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.

'Door open'

Washington wants Brazil, which enjoys good ties with Iran, to support its push for a fourth round of UN sanctions against Tehran over its refusal to stop enriching uranium - a possible step to building atomic weapons.

Tehran says the uranium is being enriched to provide fuel for nuclear power reactors it envisages building.

Brazil is currently a member of the UN Security Council.

"I think it's only after we pass sanctions in the Security Council that Iran will negotiate in good faith," Mrs Clinton said.

"The door is open for negotiations. We never slammed it shut," she said. "But we don't see anybody, even in the far-off distance, walking toward it."

Even before talks with Mrs Clinton began, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva repeated his stance that isolating Iran's leaders is counter-productive.

"It is not prudent to push Iran against a wall. The prudent thing is to establish negotiations," he said.

"I want for Iran the same thing as I wish for Brazil: To use the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. If Iran is in agreement with that, Iran will have Brazil's support."

President Lula said he did not want Iran to develop nuclear weapons and would raise the issue in a visit to Tehran in May.

Mrs Clinton is visiting South America at a time when there is a sense in the region that President Barack Obama's administration, distracted by so many other issues, has not lived up to expectations, says the BBC's Gary Duffy in Sao Paulo.

The US state department has said if Brazil uses its relationship with Iran to press the country to fulfil its international obligations then that would be an important step, but if it did not do that, Washington would be "disappointed".