U.S. assures Israel that core Iran sanctions still in place

[December 05, 2013]  JERUSALEM (Reuters) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that core sanctions against Iran would remain in place despite its interim nuclear deal with world powers.

"The fundamental sanctions regime of oil and banking remains absolutely in place. It is not changed. And we will be stepping up our effort of enforcement through the Treasury Department and through the appropriate agencies of the United States," Kerry told reporters in Jerusalem.

Speaking earlier, Netanyahu told Kerry "steps must be taken to prevent a further erosion of sanctions". The sanctions were eased after the deal struck in Geneva last month, to which Israel strongly objected.

(Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)