 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Iran waiting for Obama's plan for the Middle East: speaker
Madrid (AFP) Feb 9, 2009 Iran's powerful parliament speaker Ali Larijani called on US President Barack Obama's administration here Monday to outline its plans for the Middle East and to use diplomatic means to present them. "If they believe in some plan, they should present it through diplomatic means. Diplomacy was created for that," Larijani told a news conference after talks with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. "If Iran feels that there really exists a firm decision to solve the problems of the region, if it feels the change in the United States is a strategic change and not tactical, and that talks with Iran would help national interests and those of the region, Iran could examine it," he added. "Talking about negotiations should not be a juggling game in the media," Larijani said. A Spanish government spokeswoman said that, during his talks with Zapatero, Larijani had welcomed the Obama administration's willingness to talk with Tehran as a significant policy shift. The former nuclear negotiator told Zapatero that US Vice President Joe Biden had enunciated "an important change in US foreign policy" during a speech at an international security conference in Munich, Germany on Saturday. "Larijani recognised that Biden's speech and his support for multilateralism seemed to be very positive," the spokeswoman told AFP. In his speech, Biden said the United States was open to dialogue with Iran, which Washington and its Western allies believe is aiming to develop atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear energy programme. "We will be willing to talk to Iran, and to offer a very clear choice: continue down the current course and there will be continued pressure and isolation; abandon the illicit nuclear programme and your support for terrorism and there will be meaningful incentives," he said. Iran denies its nuclear programme is military in nature and has continued with uranium enrichment, insisting it is only being done to generate electricity. To convince Iran to suspend the project, major powers have offered a series of political and economic incentives. Biden's comments mark a change in US policy from former president George W. Bush, who once labelled Iran a member of an "Axis of Evil." US-Iran relations have been frozen for three decades. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
US reaches out to Iran as Germany warns of sanctions
Munich, Germany (AFP) Feb 7, 2009The United States reached cautiously out to Iran Saturday offering talks on Tehran's nuclear ambitions, as Germany warned of tougher sanctions should diplomacy break down. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook