19 August 2004
White House Report, August 19: Iran, Iraq
Iran must abide by international obligations, Iraqi government working to resolve Najaf
IRAN MUST COMPLY WITH INTERNATIONAL LAWS
The U.S. continues to focus on the need for Iran to comply with their international obligations, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters August 19 in Crawford, Texas.
Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has the right to develop nuclear power with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supervision; however, there are mounting concerns that its program may divert into weapons production.
Recently, Iran has expressed growing disquiet over the U.S. troop presence in Iraq and Afghanistan.
When asked about a statement by Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani, hinting that Iran may launch a preemptive strike to protect its nuclear facilities, McClellan responded, "The Iranians say a lot of things. But what the Iranian government needs to do is end its pursuit of nuclear weapons. That's what our priority is when it comes to Iran."
"Germany, France and the British are making it very clear to the Iranians, as well," he said, "They need to fully comply with their international obligations and abide by what they said they would do."
IRAQ GOVERNMENT TOUGH ON AL-SADR
The Iraqi government has made clear that Muqtada al-Sadr must abide by the nation's laws, said McClellan.
"The Iraqi government has made it clear that he needs to leave the Shrine of Ali, that he needs to disarm and disband the militia. And so they're working to bring a resolution to this situation," he said.
Al-Sadr, a radical Shiite cleric, and his loyalists began attacks against a combined U.S.-Iraqi force nearly two weeks ago in Najaf, Iraq. The insurgency remains one of the biggest challenges to Iraq's interim government.
"This is a serious security problem that the Iraqi government is working to address," said the press secretary, "and they are taking a very firm and tough stand with Sadr and his militia."
On August 18, the Iraqi government sent a delegation to the National Conference in Baghdad to negotiate with al-Sadr. While al-Sadr accepted a peace plan, he defied the agreement on August 19.
McClellan reiterated U.S. cooperation with the interim government and said that multinational forces are actively supporting the efforts of the interim government.
"We need to see action by [Sadr] to follow through on [Iraqi] demands," he said.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=August&x=20040819172226lshsan0.1219751&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
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