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Iran Proposes Diplomatic Opening to U.S.
Iran s president wrote to President Bush on Monday proposing what the nations top nuclear negotiator called a new "diplomatic opening" between the two countries. The United States reacted coolly to the announcement, saying Iran must back down on its nuclear program.Iran contends it has the right to process uranium as fuel in nuclear reactors to generate electricity. The United States, Britain and France are concerned the program is a cover for making nuclear weapons. Iran has long sought what it terms relations on an equal footing with the West. "I dont know what offer they would want to make, but it wouldnt be surprising. It would fit the paradigm of their activity before and then once the squeeze lets up a little bit, back they go to enrichment, back they go to perfecting their conversion technology, back they go to the pursuit of nuclear weapons," Bolton said. In Washington, Bushs national security adviser, Stephen Hadley , said he was not aware of the Ahmadinejad letter but restated U.S. policy in the nuclear dispute. The Iranian government spokesman who disclosed the communication did not mention the nuclear standoff and said the missive spoke to the larger U.S.-Iranian conflict, which dates to the 1979 hostage crisis. According to government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham, the letter proposed "new solutions for getting out of international problems and the current fragile situation of the world." In Turkey, Ali Larijani, Irans top nuclear negotiator, said the Iranians were looking for a positive response but would be patient. The United States has publicly sought renewed contact with Iran through its ambassador in Iraq , Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been authorized to speak to Iranian officials about security in Iraq. Before the Ahmadinejad letter was announced, Bush said he was paying close attention to threats made against Israel by Ahmadinejad, who has questioned Israels right to exist and said the country should be wiped off the map. "I think that its very important for us to take his words very seriously," Bush told the German newspaper Bild on Friday, according to a transcript released Sunday. "When people speak, it is important that we listen carefully to what they say and take them seriously." Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki delivered the letter to the Swiss ambassador in Tehran on Monday, ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told The Associated Press. The Swiss Embassy acts as a U.S. interest section in the Iranian capital. The Swiss Embassy did not return telephone calls seeking confirmation of the letter. A U.N. diplomat in New York said such a letter was unlikely to be transmitted to Washington electronically, meaning the Swiss probably would have to send it by courier. That meant the letter would not reach Bush "before tomorrow (Tuesday) noon the earliest," the diplomat said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. No Iranian president has written to his U.S. counterpart since 1979, when the countries broke relations after Iranian militants stormed the U.S. Embassy and held the occupants hostage for 444 days. Last week, Larijani went to the United Arab Emirates to reassure its government about Irans nuclear program, and last month former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani made a similar visit to Kuwait. On Tuesday, Ahmadinejad travels to Indonesia, where Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said "we support nuclear development for peaceful purposes, especially energy, but we consistently object to nuclear weapons proliferation." The United States is backing efforts by Britain and France to win Security Council approval for a U.N. resolution that would threaten possible further measures if Iran does not suspend uranium enrichment. If taken to sufficient levels, the process can produce fuel for nuclear warheads. The Western nations want to invoke Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter that would allow economic sanctions or military action, if necessary, to force Iran to comply with the Security Councils demand that it cease enrichment. Russia and China, the two other veto-holding members of the Security Council members, have said diplomacy still must be given a chance. China expressed concern Monday that a proposed U.N. resolution to curb Irans nuclear program could lead to a new war and it urged Britain and France to eliminate any reference to possible future sanctions or military action against Tehran. Posted by: tipper 2006-05-08 |
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