| Did you hear an outcry? I musta slept through it... |
Iran painted the United States as a diplomatically isolated superpower on Monday, saying an international outcry had forced Washington to withdraw a threat of military action against Tehran. "I believe the international community's reaction to the speech by itself meant a lot," Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said on a visit to Malaysia, referring to U.S. President George W Bush's State of the Union address. "That's why America has withdrawn from the position and they have stressed that they do not have such plans in their agenda," he said, noting remarks last week by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who sought to ease fears of a U.S. attack. Those fears were aroused last week when Bush called Iran the "world's primary state sponsor of terror" and accused it of seeking to build atomic weapons. He has also declined to rule out military action against Iran over its nuclear programme. His comments drew criticism from Islamic nations and caused the European Union (EU) to distance itself from Washington's approach to Iran. "That is our right to have nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. We are asking for our right," Kharrazi told reporters. In contrast to his comments on Washington, Kharrazi said Iran would discuss the EU's concerns over the question of suspending its nuclear programme and would look to build up more confidence between the two sides.