Iran Nuclear NewsRice reiterates Iran should not seek nukes

Rice reiterates Iran should not seek nukes

-

AFP: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday
that Iran should not seek to develop nuclear weapons under the pretenses of developing a civilian nuclear program. “There needs to be a very clear commitment from the Iranians to live up to their international obligations and not to seek nuclear weapons under cover of nuclear civilian power,” Rice told … AFP

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that Iran should not seek to develop nuclear weapons under the pretenses of developing a civilian nuclear program.

“There needs to be a very clear commitment from the Iranians to live up to their international obligations and not to seek nuclear weapons under cover of nuclear civilian power,” Rice told reporters after meeting here with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

Solana for his part said Iran knew the “consequences” if it did not issue certain guarantees about its nuclear aims, hinting the issue could be brought before the UN Security Council.

Rice spoke after a department spokesman renewed a call earlier Tuesday for Tehran to abandon its uranium enrichment program after Iran reserved the right to pursue such activities despite fears it was working on a nuclear bomb.

“There is no reason for them to have an enrichment and reprocessing program,” said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.

“We continue to believe that this is the only way for Iran to resolve this issue, and a way that the international community will be able to verify and to support,” Rice stressed.

“And so we very much hope the talks are going to succeed. The Iranians need to take advantage of the opportunity that the Europeans are giving them,” she said.

Solana said the European Union was of the same mindset.

“We have the same point of view vis a vis the negotiations and we have to thank also the United States for the help they have given us in this complicated negotiation,” Solana said.

Rice spoke after Iran’s Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said his country was bent on carrying out uranium enrichment, which Washington fears is part of a nuclear arms program.

The Islamic republic denies seeking atomic weapons. But Kharazi told a UN conference on non-proliferation Tuesday that “Iran for its part is determined to pursue all legal areas of nuclear technology.”

Iran had agreed to suspend enrichment as part of negotiations with Germany, France and Britain, which hope to wean Tehran off any nuclear arms ambitions through economic and security incentives.

The United States is backing the effort, but both US and European officials have signaled their impatience with the slow pace of talks. The US envoy to the UN conference took a hard line toward Iran on Monday.

Stephen Rademaker called for “permanent cessation of Iran’s enrichment and reprocessing efforts as well as dismantlement of equipment and facilities related to such activities.”

Rademaker, assistant secretary of state for arms control, also said states not complying with nuclear safeguards provided in the Non-Proliferation Treaty should be deprived of help in developing peaceful atomic technology.

Rice has signaled that Washington was willing to give the European talks with Iran until the summer before starting to look around for other options in dealing with Tehran.

Latest news

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...

Iran’s Youths Have Highest Unemployment Rate

The Iranian regime’s Eghtesad News website reported that data from the Statistical Center of Iran shows that the youth...

Must read

Iran accuses CIA, Mossad of killing nuclear scientist

AFP: Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar accused the...

Iran bans movie star from leaving for Hollywood

AFP: Iran has banned an award-winning young actress from...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you