On The Seventh Day Of...

    

U.S. urges resistance to Iran's nuclear ambitions
Tue Feb 8, 2005 10:05 PM GMT

PARIS (Reuters) - World leaders must stand firm against Tehran's nuclear ambitions and reject Iranian attempts to dictate its own terms for fulfilling a pledge not to develop atomic weapons, the United States has said.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday talks with Britain, France and Germany were a chance for Iran to demonstrate it was ready to respect the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which proscribes development of atomic weapons.

"We have diplomatic tools before us, but what we need is unity of purpose and unity of message to the Iranians," Rice said after talks with French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier.

...
Washington continues to warn U.S. and European firms against doing business with Iran. That makes it difficult for the EU3 negotiators to put together an economic assistance package that could clinch a deal with Tehran.

Barnier said the European initiative needed "the confidence and the support of the United States in this very delicate phase ... and that is one of the messages that we passed on to Condi Rice."

Iran says it plans to review progress in the talks in mid-March, after which it could again resume uranium enrichment.

» World News Article | Reuters.co.uk