13 March 2005
Iran Facing "United Front" on Nuclear Weapons, Rice Says
Secretary also says U.S. examining reported Syrian plan on Lebanon pullout
By Bernard Chabel
Washington File Special Correspondent
The United States and its European allies have developed a unified position in opposition to Iranian development of nuclear weapons, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says.
"A common front, a common approach" has developed that says "Iran must not develop a nuclear weapon, that Iran's international obligations must be upheld, and that means they cannot develop a nuclear weapon under cover of civilian nuclear power," Rice said in an interview on ABC's This Week March 13.
"I'm sure it makes the Iranians uncomfortable that this united front now puts the spotlight back on what Iran must do," she said.
Speaking the same day on the CBS program Face the Nation, Rice said Iranians "are uncomfortable with the notion that they have failed to split the United States and Europe on this matter."
Rice also pointed out that Russia has structured the agreement on the Bushehr nuclear reactor in a manner that demonstrates the Iranians should not pursue nuclear weapons activities. "That's why they would provide fuel and take back spent fuel rods," Rice said. "Everyone told President Bush when he was in Europe -- [France's] President Chirac, [Germany's] Chancellor Schroeder, [Britain's] Prime Minister Blair, [Russia's] President Putin -- Iran must not get a nuclear weapon. And so the Iranians now have to demonstrate that they are not going to seek a nuclear weapon."
On NBC's Meet the Press, Rice said Iranian development of nuclear weapons "would be so destabilizing to a region that is already so troubled."
Rice also said the United States was awaiting more information on a reported agreement between Syria and the United Nations on a pullout of Syrian troops and intelligence officers from Lebanon. The secretary said there were "positive elements" to the reported agreement, including that Syria would withdraw out of Lebanon, not just to the border, and that Syrian intelligence officials also would leave. "The key here is to remove from Lebanon the artificial impact of Syrian forces and Syrian intelligence offices," Rice said on the ABC program.
"When the Syrians go, you will see what the balance of forces really looks like in Lebanon; the Lebanese will be able to deal with their differences. It is also extremely important for the Lebanese to have free and fair elections to legitimize any political process going forward. And that's what we and our European allies and a number of Arab states in the region are working for at this point," Rice said on the NBC program.
Appearing after Rice on the CBS program, senators Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Joseph Biden, ranking minority member of that panel, agreed there was reason for optimism over recent developments in the Middle East.
Lugar said that in addition to developments in Lebanon and with Iran, the release of a noted dissident in Egypt and activities toward multi-party elections in that country and Saudi Arabia were indications that "the president's policy of emphasizing democracy and our ability really to seize these moments is really paying off."
Biden complimented Rice and said, "I really think that if we stay this course, we've got a shot of literally affecting the course of history in that region for the next generation."
With respect to Iran, Lugar said that "it would be inadvisable to set deadlines and time tables" for negotiations.
Noting that Iran is scheduled to hold elections in June, Lugar said he believes "it will be difficult for the Iranians to come to final settlement with the election still at hand, and potential changes of leadership."
Echoing Lugar's remarks, Biden said that the Iranian elections could be "really consequential, in terms of whether or not we are likely to get a real negotiation" and recommended that the talks "play out at least through those elections."
"[T]hey may have a positive impact, they may have a negative impact. But, I don't think you're going to see anything really hard until after those elections in June," he said.
State Department transcripts of Rice's interviews are available at:
ABC's This Week: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2005/43342.htm
CBS's Face the Nation: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2005/43346.htm
NBC's Meet the Press: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2005/43345.htm
(The Washington File is a product of 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=2005&m=March&x=20050313182425lebahcb0.5525782&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
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