Bush: World Does Not Want Iran to Have Nuclear Weapons
21 June 2006
President Bush says the major world powers are united in the goal of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Mr. Bush says those powers must now present a common diplomatic front to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. He says the United States is willing to join international talks on the matter if Iran first suspends uranium enrichment.
He spoke in Vienna Wednesday, after meeting with European Union leaders for a one-day summit on Iran and other issues.
Mr. Bush also said Iran's plan to respond in late August to a Western incentives offer is an "awful long time" to wait for an answer. He said it should not take Iran that long to analyze what he called a reasonable deal.
Mr. Bush spoke shortly after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave the timetable for his country's formal response to the offer.
The offer involves incentives and multilateral talks if Iran agrees to suspend uranium enrichment and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
But, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, issued a statement Wednesday calling for the talks to resume without preconditions. The 57-member body says the issue can only be resolved through negotiation.
The United States and Europe believe Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. But Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes only.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP .
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