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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran Proposes ‘Diplomatic Opening‘ to U.S. |
| 2006-05-08 |
| Iran ‘s president wrote to President Bush on Monday proposing what the nation‘s 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 don‘t know what offer they would want to make, but it wouldn‘t 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, Bush‘s 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, Iran‘s 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 Israel‘s right to exist and said the country should be wiped off the map. "I think that it‘s 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 Iran‘s 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 Council‘s 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 Iran‘s 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 |
| #7 N.S. Has a good point. France could be peeled off an effective UNSC resolution. Indeed we have all come to expect it as soon as it looks like something more than talk might happen. If Iran gets as much world wide press as Iraq did during the U.N. process I fully expect France to stand down. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2006-05-08 16:54 |
| #6 NS To do that hes got to be really subtle. Even the French know we wont give an absolute guarantee without dealing in some way with terror, Iranian meddling in Iraq, and Iranian subversion of the ME peace process. The difficult part is the "some way" Iran COULD try some weasel words that would give Chirac cover, but that they couldnt be held to when push comes to shove. OTOH this Ahmadinaged hasnt been the worlds most subtle guy - is he about to start now? |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2006-05-08 16:33 |
| #5 He can say, I will appear to be chastened and reasonable if that, together with a few bribes, will peel the French away from you so that you are left alone with the Brits at the UNSC again. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-05-08 16:16 |
| #4 OJ at Bros. Judd thinks W should publically acknowledge the letter and visit Iran. Then give a speech like Ronnie gave at Moscow U in 1988. I'll add on to that, if W decides to go, he should go during the G-8. Stiff ole' pooty-put, all the media attention will be there, plus the worry of what W's going to say. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2006-05-08 16:14 |
| #3 he can say "I will give up enrichment, in exchange for stopping the UNSC process" Of course wed take that in a new york sec, but he wont offer that. He can say "i will give up enrichment in return for a US guarantee never to attack or subvert Iran" He may well do that. We will reject it, cause if he attacks an ally, or uses more terrorism, we might need to attack him anyway. If he says " i will give up enrichment, AND give up support for terror, and agree (in effect, if the wording is weaselly) not to attack Israel, in exchange for a guarantee of no US attack or subversion" then we have something to talk about. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2006-05-08 16:08 |
| #2 Hey, he's jerked off the EU and the IAEA for so damn long that he probably figures he might as well try it with us too. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-05-08 16:07 |
| #1 Ahmadinejad has said enough already. There is nothing he can say in a letter that will change his record or the need to wipe out his nuclear ambitions. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2006-05-08 16:03 |