10 January 2006
Iran Risking "Escalation" of Nuclear Standoff, White House Says
Press secretary McClellan also comments on Iraq, Pakistan
Washington -- Iran’s removal of United Nations seals from nuclear equipment at its Natanz facility risks a “serious escalation” of the country’s standoff with the international community over its nuclear program, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
Speaking to the press January 10, McClellan repeated his warning that the issue might need referral to the U.N. Security Council if Iran does not comply with previous agreements and “does not negotiate in good faith” with the international community. The press secretary said that “a growing majority within the international community” shares this view.
Should Iran proceed with uranium enrichment and reprocessing, it further will violate the November 2004 Paris agreement negotiated with France, Germany and the United Kingdom (the EU-3), he said.
McClellan warned that if Iran were to master the technology of uranium enrichment, which he said is the intended purpose of its enrichment plant, “it would be able to apply that technology to a covert enrichment program which could be used to manufacture [nuclear] weapons.”
He said the “serious concern” throughout the international community about Iran’s behavior is “well founded,” partly due to Iran's “history of concealing and hiding [its] nuclear activities from the international community,” as well as its continued noncompliance of its nuclear safeguard obligations.
“It's also why the international community has sought objective guarantees from Iran that the regime is not developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian program,” he said.
McClellan said the United States is in discussions with European countries and others about how best to move forward and resume negotiations with Iran.
The United States is continuing to work to resolve the crisis “in a peaceful and diplomatic manner,” he said, repeating President Bush’s statement that “Iran is not Iraq.” However, he said Bush has also “made it clear we never take options off the table.”
“Everybody in the international community is sending a clear message to Iran that it needs to abide by the Paris agreement, come back to negotiations, act in good faith, and provide objective guarantees that it can be trusted and that it's not developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian program,” he said.
For additional information on U.S. policy, see Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
U.S. URGES INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR IRAQI PEOPLE
Many countries have not yet fulfilled their 2003 pledges of assistance to Iraq made at a conference in Madrid, Spain, McClellan said, urging support for the Iraqi people “as they move forward on building a democratic country.”
More than $13 billion was pledged at the conference, and McClellan said there are “many countries that have yet to fulfill their commitments.”
Though he refused to specify which countries, the press secretary said the message to them is “we encourage you to move forward as quickly as possible to fulfill that commitment to help the Iraqi people.” He urged countries that did not pledge money to consider doing so.
McClellan also expressed appreciation for NATO members that are helping to train Iraqi security forces, but said there is “always more that everybody can do to support the Iraqi people.
“I think the Iraqi people have shown through their determination and courage that they want to chart their own future, that they want to live in freedom. And all of us should stand by the Iraqi people as they move forward to do so,” he said. (See Iraq Update.)
U.S. REMAINS COMMITTED TO PAKISTAN’S RECOVERY AND REBUILDING
McClellan said the United States and many in the international community continue to “stand with the people of Pakistan and help them as they recover” from the devastating October 2005 earthquake.
McClellan said help has come from the U.S. military and U.S. charitable organizations “to help people in the region who are in need, and to help them recover and to help them rebuild.”
He also said a private effort has been initiated to provide more funding to international nongovernmental organizations, which he said “have a proven record of helping those who are in need.”
For additional information on recovery and reconstruction efforts, see U.S. Response to the Earthquake in South Asia.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
