|
|
Close Help | ||||||||||||||
|
Rice: U.S. Attack on Iran 'Not on Agenda' Now By Saul Hudson (Reuters), February 4, 2005 LONDON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began her first foreign tour as America's top diplomat with a double-edged pledge Friday that Washington had no immediate plans to attack Iran. "The question is simply not on the agenda at this point -- we have diplomatic means to do this," she said when asked if Washington was considering military action to force compliance from Tehran on its nuclear program. Her response, assuaging fears of imminent military action, though leaving the door open for the future, was unlikely to reduce global tensions over Iran, which President Bush this week called the "world's primary state sponsor of terror." Rice hopes to use her week-long tour of Europe and the Middle East to heal transatlantic ties after the war in Iraq and launch a new push for Middle East peace. Rice insisted the Middle East conflict was high on the U.S. agenda, as both Europe and the Arab world want. She reiterated U.S. offers to help train Palestinian security forces and hailed a shift in mood under new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whom she meets Monday. "The political atmosphere has changed concerning terrorism," she said. "The fact is though, that there will have to be action, to make certain that terrorists cannot frustrate both his plans and endanger the lives of Israelis" MIXED SIGNALS Three EU countries are trying to engage and negotiate with Iran to stop it developing nuclear weapons, but the United States has preferred a tactic of confronting and isolating it. Rice said Iran, branded by Washington as part of an "axis of evil" with pre-war Iraq and North Korea, needs to live up to its obligations and agree to inspections. "It is the Iranians that are isolated on this issue -- not the United States," she said, lambasting the Islamic republic's "abysmal human rights record." Reform was sweeping through the Middle East, she said in a speech littered with references to the U.S. push for "liberty." "Iran is not immune to the changes that are going on in this region," she added, referring to recent elections in Afghanistan and Iraq. Iran denies U.S. charges it is developing a nuclear bomb. It says its programs are for peaceful power generation needed to accommodate its growing population. Despite indicating on the flight over that Washington would not accede to Europe's plea for it to join the talks, Rice played down the different approaches. "There is really very little difference between us about the challenges we face in dealing with the Iranian regime. We have many diplomatic tools still at our disposal and we intend to pursue them fully," she added. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw glossed over policy differences to marvel at Rice's "formidable program of diplomacy" on her first trip as secretary of state. Following the Iraqi elections, "we now have the opportunity to put the divisions behind us," he added. He confirmed Rice will attend a March conference in London with Palestinian officials, organized by Prime Minister Tony Blair. As well as Iran, U.S. anger at the EU's plan to lift an arms embargo on China and differences over where to try war criminals from Sudan's conflict in Darfur could cloud Rice's visit to eight European capitals in coming days.
Posted for educational and research purposes only, ~ in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 ~ NucNews Links and Expanded Archives - http://nucnews.net |
