Vice President Biden: Sanctions Against Iran 'By The End of This Month'
On 'The View,' veep talks nuclear bombs and F-bombs.
April 22, 2010— -- In a matter of days, the United Nations will impose sanctions against Iran for illegally pursuing nuclear weapons, Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview Thursday.
During a live appearance on ABC's "The View," Biden said UN sanctions, backed by the permanent members of the security council including China, will be announced by the end of this month or in the first weeks of May.
"Everyone from the Israeli prime minister straight through to the British prime minster to the president of Russia, everyone agrees that the next step we should take is the UN sanctions route," he said. "I believe you'll see a sanctions regime coming out by the end of this month, the beginning of next month."
The United States and its Western allies have long opposed Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, but have been unable to push a sanctions regime with real teeth through the UN without the support of Russia and China.
Last week, at the end of a 47-nation nuclear security summit, President Obama announced that the Chinese had agreed in principal to supporting a sanctions regime.
"China will agree to sanctions," Biden said in answer to a question from Barbara Walters. "This is the first time the entire world is unified. Iran is out of bounds."
The vice president may have been more comfortable discussing Iranian bombs, but the hosts of The View were equally interested in discussing his now-infamous dropping of the "F-bomb."
"I was just thankful my mother couldn't hear it," Biden said of the colorful language he used in front of an open microphone to describe the passage of health care reform last month.
President Obama, he said, could not stop laughing when he was told the world heard Biden whispering "this is a big f****ing deal" in what he thought was confidence.
"After it was over we walked out and got in the limo to go to another event and he was laughing like the devil," Biden said.
Biden's visit to "The View" marked the first time the show played host to a sitting vice president. But the show's hostesses stayed true to form, lobbing personal questions about his childhood and family life.
