“New trend” underway in Iran nuclear talks, says minister
Washington, 2 July (IranVNC)—US and Iranian media have suggested in recent days that Iran has adopted a softer line in its nuclear standoff, after the foreign policy advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said yesterday that it would be in Iran’s interest to accept a package by the six major powers – the U.S., Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany [P5+1].
By: IranVNC
Published: Wednesday, July 02, 2008
15:11GMT—11:11AM/EST
IRAN – U.S. – NUCLEAR – STANDOFF
Washington, 2 July (IranVNC)—US and Iranian media have suggested in recent days that Iran has adopted a softer line in its nuclear standoff, after the foreign policy advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said yesterday that it would be in Iran’s interest to accept a package by the six major powers – the U.S., Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany [P5+1].
Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters today that Iran is studying the P5+1 package in a “constructive” manner, and will give a response “very soon”, Iran’s IRIB News reported. The package was presented to Iran last month and aims to persuade Tehran to suspend its uranium enrichment work.
“A new trend is underway and it started with the package delivered by Iran,” Mottaki added, according to the official news agency, IRNA. Iran presented its own package as a counter-proposal to the P5+1 offer, and has said that negotiations should be based on commonalities between them.
The White House, however, expressed doubt about Iran’s sincerity in accepting the P5+1 proposal.
“If they were serious about wanting to take us up on that offer, then that would be welcome. But I think we have every reason to be skeptical since we get mixed messages from them quite often,” White House spokesperson Dana Perino was quoted by AFP as saying today.
The US maintains that it is pursuing a diplomatic solution to the long-standing dispute with Iran over its nuclear program, which Washington fears will be used to develop nuclear weapons. President George W. Bush said today that the “first option for the United States is to solve this problem diplomatically.”
But concerns over a possible military strike against Iran rose again yesterday, after an unnamed senior US defense official told ABC TV News that there was an increasing likelihood Israel would attack Iran. However, the State Department criticized this report.
“The official State Department reaction to that is one, laughter, and [two] saying 'Coward, get out there and talk about it on the record if you've actually got something to say,’” deputy State Department spokesperson Tom Casey said yesterday.
And EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who delivered the P5+1 package to Tehran on 14 June, said today he was still waiting for a formal answer from Iran.
“These are good expressions but I would like to have a response formalized, the sooner the better,” Reuters reported Solana as saying today in the French newspaper, Liberation.
Sources: Islamic Republic of Iran’s Broadcasting [IRIB] news, IRNA, Agence France-Presse, State Department website, Reuters
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