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'No Choice' But To Impose Sanctions On Iran
October 3, 2006 -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the international community will have no choice but to impose sanctions on Iran if it refuses to suspend its uranium-enrichment program.
Speaking today in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, Rice said there was currently no evidence that Iran intends to suspend its uranium-enrichment activities.
The United Nations Security Council says it could impose sanctions on Iran unless it suspends uranium enrichment, a process that can produce materials used in nuclear weapons. Iran says it is not seeking such weapons.
Rice arrived in Saudi Arabia on October 2 on the first leg of a Middle East tour. Rice's next stop is Egypt. She is also due to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Meanwhile, Russian Security Council chief Igor Ivanov is meeting today with Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, in Tehran.
In telephone talks with U.S President George W. Bush on October 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the need to pursue negotiations with Iran.
For it's part, Iran has proposed that France create a consortium to enrich uranium for Tehran's nuclear program in an effort to end the standoff over the Islamic state's nuclear ambitions.
The deputy head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Saidi, told France Info radio today that the uranium would be enriched on Iranian soil, something the international community has previously rejected. There was no immediate response from the French government.
(compiled from agency reports)
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
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