US prefers diplomacy to resolve Iran nuclear issue: Kerry
Iran Press TV
Mon Mar 4, 2013 4:26PM GMT
US Secretary of State John Kerry says America and Saudi Arabia prefer diplomatic channels for the settlement of issues related to Iran’s nuclear energy program.
In a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal in Riyadh on Monday, Kerry said, "We both prefer - and this is important for Iranians to hear and understand - we both prefer diplomacy as the first choice, the preferred choice.”
Kerry, however, pointed out, "The window for a diplomatic solution simply cannot by definition remain open indefinitely”
"We can't be like philosophers who keep talking -- we have to talk seriously and honestly and we have to put in our commitment clearly on the table," Kerry said.
This is not the first time that top US officials lay emphasis on diplomacy as the main channel for the resolution of the issue over Iran's nuclear energy program, revealing a policy shift from President Obama’s first term when his defense chief Leon Panetta time and again threatened Iran with a military option.
On February 22, US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US was willing “to meet bilaterally with the Iranian side,” repeating an offer Vice President Joe Biden had made earlier at the 49th annual Munich Security Conference in Germany on February 2.
Only four days after Biden’s offer of talks, the US Treasury Department announced new sanctions to prevent Iran from gaining access to earnings garnered from its crude exports.
On February 7, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei slammed Washington’s carrot and stick policy, saying “You should know that pressure and negotiations do not go together, and the [Iranian] nation will not be intimidated by such things.”
Threats of military action by the US and its Middle Eastern ally, the Israeli regime, against Iran, as well as the illegal unilateral sanctions by Washington and the European Union are based on the unsubstantiated allegation that Iran is covertly seeking to militarize its nuclear technology, a claim Iran has categorically rejected.
MYA/SS/MA
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