Special Report: U.S. presidential election 2008

    WASHINGTON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican presidential hopeful John McCain Monday called on tougher economic sanctions against Iran as a way to pressure Teheran to give up its nuclear plan.

    In particular, he urged corporations and government institutions worldwide to pull their money out of Iran.

    In remarks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, the country's largest pro-Israel lobbying group, McCain told the audience that "Teheran's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons poses an unacceptable risk, a danger we cannot allow."

    He also mocked Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's calls to meet with the leaders of Iran and other nations that have been critical of the United States.

    McCain also criticized Obama for opposing the war in Iraq, saying success in that war-torn country is important to the security of the U.S. and its Middle East allies.

    "Allowing a potential terrorist sanctuary would profoundly affect the security of the United States, Israel, and our other friends, and would invite further intervention from Iraq's neighbors, including an emboldened Iran," he said.

    Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan said the Illinois senator, who addresses AIPAC on Wednesday, sponsored an Iran disinvestment program in 2007, which McCain did not sign onto.

    Sevugan also said McCain's calls to get tough with Iran are undercut by his support of the war in Iraq.

    "Nothing has done more to strengthen and embolden Iran than the war in Iraq," he said.

    The United States has imposed economic sanctions on Iran for decades.

    McCain plans to call for expanding them to the Central Bank of Iran.

    An Iranian American group was critical of McCain's remarks on economic sanctions.

    "After 20 years of failed sanctions, additional sanctions don't advance diplomacy, they undermine it. To put stricter economic sanctions at the center of a future Iran policy is to intensify an already failed policy," said Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council.