WASHINGTON, Feb 22: The United States has no desire to lock horns with Iran and is still ready for talks if Tehran halts its controversial nuclear activities, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview broadcast on Thursday.
“Let me just say here publicly, the United States has no desire for confrontation with Iran. None,” Ms Rice told CNN before heading back home after a trip to the Middle East and Europe.
“The option that we have is to continue to try to convince those who are reasonable in Iran, that the course they are on is destructive,” Ms Rice said.
Her comments came ahead of a UN report that is likely to conclude that Iran has failed to meet a UN Security Council demand to halt uranium enrichment. They also came with two US aircraft carrier groups deployed in the Gulf region.
In the interview, Ms Rice also reiterated the US willingness to talk to Iran if Tehran first halts its uranium-enrichment programme that Washington believes is aimed at producing an atomic bomb.
“It is an offer I would renew today,” the chief US diplomat said when asked about the possibility of discussions.
In 2005, Ms Rice offered Iran direct talks on the turmoil in Iraq with the then-US ambassador to Baghdad, Zalmay Khalilzad. The discussions never materialized and Washington cooled on the idea last year.
BERLIN: In Berlin Ms Rice said world powers planned to refer Iran back to the UN Security Council in an attempt to halt its sensitive nuclear work and resume negotiations.
Ms Rice said on Thursday after a meeting in Berlin with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana that there was agreement over the next steps to take following Iran's refusal to stop uranium enrichment.
“We re-confirmed that we will use our available channels and the Security Council to achieve that goal and the goal is to get Iran back to negotiations once they suspend their enrichment activities,” Ms Rice said.
“We have the common goal to encourage Iran back to the bargaining table.” Lavrov said later at a press conference after bilateral talks with Steinmeier that Russia would await a report later on Thursday by the head of the UN atomic watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei.
“On its basis we will consult on future steps in the UN Security Council,” he said, adding that the highest priority was assuring that international non-proliferation agreements are upheld and that negotiations with Iran resume.
Rice told reporters: “I don't think there is any doubt that there is some dissatisfaction with the course they (Iran) are on.
“We've said all along that there are people in Iran who recognise that the path that they are on is not a useful path and there are better ways to do this.—AFP