Iran Nuclear NewsRice warns Iran that world has lost its patience

Rice warns Iran that world has lost its patience

-

ImageAP: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned on Wednesday that the world has lost patience for Iranian foot-dragging regarding a possible return to bargaining over its nuclear program.

The Associated Press

By ANNE GEARAN

ImagePARIS (AP) — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned on Wednesday that the world has lost patience for Iranian foot-dragging regarding a possible return to bargaining over its nuclear program.

Rice said nations with an offer on the table won't let Iran use a fresh diplomatic overture as an excuse for further delay.

Traveling to Europe, where Iran is a central topic for President Bush's final trip there as president, Rice welcomed Europe's new willingness to consider additional coercive sanctions against Iran. She suggested European nations expect a quick answer from Iran once it receives a repackaged opening offer.

A European envoy was to deliver the offer — essentially a retooling of a two-year-old package of incentives for Iran to roll back its nuclear program — as soon as this weekend.

"I'm going to be attentive to it, and I think others will be attentive to any sense that Iran is trying to use this opportunity for them to stall, because I think that no one is of a mind to allow them to stall very much longer," Rice said.

The United States agreed last month to give Iran another chance to resume arms control talks by making small changes to the existing offer, but Iran has already rejected a demand that it shelve uranium enrichment before talks could begin.

Any new European sanctions would probably wait until nations have an answer, Rice suggested.

"People are looking to see whether the Iranians have a reasonable response, a forthcoming response," she said. "It's not as if proposals haven't been put forward to them before."

Rice welcomed support from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and others for possible additional sanctions on the oil-producing giant if it continues a drive for nuclear technology that the West fears could produce a bomb. New sanctions could target Iran's banking sector, where individual sanctions applied by the United States have apparently pinched Iran.

The United Nations Security Council has passed three rounds of weak sanctions against Iran that have the chief value of making uranium enrichment the international red line. Europe, with economic and diplomatic ties to Iran, has been slower than the United States to embrace separate financial punishments.

Latest news

 Statistics show that New Year accidents’ deaths in Iran reached 585

Ahmad Shirani, the head of the Information and Traffic Control Center of the Iranian regime’s police, announced that the...

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Must read

Conservative factions dominate Iran’s run-off elections

Reuters: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, now out of favour...

Iran: Neglect of Khuzestan

Iran Focus London, 7 Nov - Khuzestan has played...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you