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Summary
Brazil rebuffed a US appeal for new sanctions on Iran about its nuclear programme, vowing not to bow down to gathering international pressure during a visit from US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pre-empted Clinton even before she could make the case for new United Nations Security Council penalties.Hours before meeting with Hillary Clinton today, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that Brazil would not bow down to international pressure to agree to new UN sanctions on Iran.It is not prudent to push Iran against a wall, Silva said, The prudent thing is to establish negotiations. Brazil is currently a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.Clinton is traveling there as part of a Latin American tour to try to persuade Brazil to sign off on a new UN Security Council resolution on Iran as early as next month.But it's a particularly tough Security Council, with key current non-permanent members of the 15 member body such as Brazil and Turkey not certain to support such a resolution, Lebanon likely to vote against it, and at least one permanent member, China, also reluctant.Three past UN Security Council resolutions on Iran passed overwhelmingly, with no no votes and only a few abstentions.Lula is due to travel to Iran in May.
