The United States will not give Iran security guarantees in exchange for forfeiting its nuclear programme, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Wednesday. “That’s not something from the US that’s on the table,” McCormack told reporters when asked about European willingness to present Iran with incentives tied to security. Earlier on Wednesday Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ridiculed the EU plan during a rally in Arak, Iran, saying, “They say they want to give us incentives. They think they can take away our gold and give us some nuts and chocolate in exchange.” When asked about the comment, McCormack said: “I think that once this is presented to the Iranian regime, we will have at least a better idea of what their intent is.”
McCormack also said that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany would meet on Tuesday to work out a common approach on Iran. He said diplomats from the major powers were trying to “talk through” the question of “how would the international community react to either Iran agreeing to this package of incentives or rejecting this package of incentives?” A London meeting scheduled for Friday involving world powers on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme will now take place on May 24, a spokesman for Britain’s Foreign Office said on Thursday.