Unless Iran takes confidence-building steps, tougher trade sanctions will be applied

     A top US official on Thursday held out the prospect of limited sanctions relief for Iran if it takes confidence-building steps to allay concerns about its atomic program, but said the fundemental sanctions must remain until all concerns have been dealt with. The chief US nuclear negotiator told the Senate relations committe that the adminstration could offer the Iranians some sanctions relief as "confidence-building" measures but it would support new and tougher trade restrictions on Iran from congress, if diplomancy ultimately fails to ease concerns that Iran might still be trying to make nuclear weapons. "These toughter economic restrictions would go into effect", said Wendy Sherman "if Iran did not take substantive actions, that were shown to the world powers at the next meeting in Geneva on the 15th and 16th of October." She said " If you do not come on those dates with that substantive plan that is real and verifiable, our congress will take action and we will support them to do so". Speaking in Tokyo, Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters that the US would not be played for "suckers" by Iranian president Rouhani. Still, Kerry defended President Barak Obama's recent engagment effort, when responding to Prime Minister Netanyahu's urging not to trust Iran. US Secretary of State John Kerry says that the United States hopes to engage with the new Iranian administration, but that any advances must be based on concrete steps by Tehran to give up its nuclear weapons program.