Russia oil talks pose new hurdle to Iran nuke pact

Reports of multibillion-dollar oil talks between Iran and Russia are emerging as the latest obstacle to a comprehensive pact eliminating the threat of an Iranian nuclear arsenal.
The Obama administration is weighing potentially deal-breaking sanctions if a contract is completed.
The Russian business daily Kommersant has reported Russia plans to buy 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil a day, shattering an export limit under the interim nuclear agreement world powers and Iran reached last year.
Moscow and Tehran are far from finalising the contract, the newspaper said, but the US has expressed alarm.
A senior US official said the administration had no information to suggest the oil-for-goods contract had been reached.

The arrangement would break the interim agreement reached in November in Geneva and "potentially trigger US sanctions," said the official, who was not authorised to be quoted by name and briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

But the official didn't say the deal would force the US to slap new economic sanctions on Iran, a move that would likely wreck the entire diplomatic process with Tehran.
Critics of the Obama administration's outreach to Iran want a clear marker outlined.
In a letter to the president yesterday, Congress' leading sanctions drafters said the US must re-impose all penalties on Iran suspended under the interim pact if Russia and Iran move forward.

"We urge you to put Iran on notice," said Sens. Bob Menendez, a Democrat, and Mark Kirk, a Republican. Sen. Bob Corker, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's top Republican, said Iran and Russia were testing America's resolve. "The administration must be prepared to restore all sanctions if Iran cheats," he said.
The six-month interim agreement, which went into effect in January and expires in July, allows Iran to continue exporting a total of 1 million barrels a day of oil to six countries: China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey.
Washington pledged no financial penalties against them as long as they weren't boosting purchases.