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THE SMART NEWS SOURCE | Feb 10 2010 05:44 | LAST UPDATED Feb 10 2010 05:44 |
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United States President Barack Obama on Thursday said Washington and its partners were now working on a package of steps to show Iran the consequences of its decision to snub a nuclear deal with the West. Obama significantly upped pressure on Tehran after it rejected United Nations-backed efforts to send most of its stocks of low-enriched uranium abroad, escalating a showdown with the West over its nuclear programme. In his first public comment on Iran's announcement on Wednesday, Obama said after talks with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak that Washington and its partners had now begun discussing "consequences" of Iran's decision. "Our expectations are that over the next several weeks we will be developing a package of potential steps that we could take that will indicate our seriousness to Iran," Obama said. World powers have warned Iran that it could face tough new sanctions if it rejects the deal, amid sharp concern over what the West says is a plan to develop nuclear weapons. He bemoaned that Tehran had not been able to agree to the proposed deal, saying he believed internal political factors in Tehran may be to blame, but left the door open for an 11th-hour change of heart from the Islamic Republic. The Obama administration was initially optimistic that Iran would accept the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) deal that emerged from talks between Iran and Russia, China, the United States, Britain, France and Germany. But hopes had been all but dashed following Iran's slow response and its statement on Wednesday. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that Iran had ruled out proposals backed by the major powers for it to ship out more than 70% of its uranium stocks before receiving any nuclear fuel in return.  CONTINUES BELOW Mottaki said Iran was prepared to consider the idea of a simultaneous exchange of uranium for fuel but the UN nuclear watchdog has already said that idea is unacceptable to the Western powers. "We will definitely not send out our 3,5% enriched uranium," Mottaki said. Western leaders have expressed fears that Iran might covertly divert some of its uranium stocks and enrich them further to the much higher levels of purity required to make an atomic bomb, an ambition Iranian officials strongly deny. Western governments support the UN-brokered deal because they believe it would leave Iran with insufficient stocks of low-enriched uranium with which to make a bomb. Obama's comments stiffened the US line, after the State Department had earlier said that the international community was "not quite" at the point of switching from engaging Iran to pressuring it over its nuclear programme. France, which had been set to play a central role in the proposed deal, said it would continue to speak with Iran but voiced disappointment at the "negative" stance so far. "There is a clear and negative response from the Iranians," Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said. Under the IAEA-brokered proposals, Iran would send out 1 200kg, which would then be further enriched by Russia and converted into fuel by France before being supplied to the Tehran reactor. "The amount they mentioned for the swap is not acceptable ... and our experts are still studying it," the Iranian foreign minister said. -- AFP TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
Comments
Khalsa Singh on November 19, 2009, 11:19 am
So Obama receives a Nobel Peace Prize & all of a sudden wants to trigger Iran into what would allow them (Americans) to send troops to Iran. When will this filthy mentality end? Soon this will be dubbed "War on Terror". Not that I'm a profet, but mark my words. I wonder who's next after Iran.
Thembeka Ndlovu on November 19, 2009, 1:59 pm
Khalsa Singh, get your head out of the dark ages please.
You call Iranians savages as if it's second nature. The other option is bombing them ? ....... how archaic ... my goodness !!! Iran has proved what a self-nourishing country it can be. Just because it does not want to deal with the West, it is now seen as evil, along with countries such as China, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, Brazil. Well, pretty soon South Africa will join this list because, in my book, the West can go and screw themselves. Countries like Iran have proven time and time again that it does not need the West and in particular the US to look after it, when all the West is interested in is it's natural wealth, the new gold: uranium.
The Moxster on November 19, 2009, 3:22 pm
Do you guys know what you are saying. These crazy mindless idiots are going to kill us all. Somewhere in Iran right now, there are people just like you and me saying this is madness, but the American military needs a budget and the Iranian hardliners need too prove a point and the rest of us get to see what nuclear fallout really looks like up close. Like a moth unto a candle so we unto our destiny..........
dave feLL on November 19, 2009, 9:05 pm
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The other option is bombing them, but thats too costly and the West doesnt have the stomach for a real war.