Via CNN ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN)
The United States and other nations should take a diplomatic approach toward Iran in negotiations over that nation's nuclear program, President Carter said Thursday.
President Carter says the U.S. should take a diplomatic approach toward Iran.
President Carter says the U.S. should take a diplomatic approach toward Iran.
"They have a right to purify uranium and plutonium to use for nuclear power," Carter said. "If Iran is on the borderline, the constant threats that we or the Israelis are going to attack Iran is the best thing to force them to say, 'Let's defend ourselves.' I don't think Iran has made up their mind what to do, and I think the best thing we can do is engage them and stop making these idle threats."
Snowy Owl
Iran's nuclear chief and representatives from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, as well as Germany, started talks Thursday in Switzerland over a recently revealed nuclear facility in Iran.
Via Haaretz
Tehran says it is developing its nuclear program for energy purposes, but many nations think Iran wants to make nuclear weapons and will be able to do so in the near future.
The existence of the second uranium enrichment facility prompted President Obama and the leaders of Britain and France to publicly chide the Islamic republic and threaten further sanctions last week at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
A deliberate approach will work best with Tehran, Carter said.
"I hope and pray that Iran will be induced to permit international inspectors to come in and observe their entire nuclear program, because what they're doing so far is completely illegal under the nonproliferation treaty," Carter said in an interview with CNN's Candy Crowley.
From Haaretz, Left Wing Newspaper of Israël
Last update - 19:45 01/10/2009
Iran, world powers to hold more nuke talks this month
By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent, and Reuters
Aide to EU foreign policy chief says Iran nuclear program is most important aspect of talks with six world powers.
Iran and the six world powers have agreed to hold another round of talks on the Islamic Republic's contentious nuclear program before the end of October, Iranian state television reported on Thursday.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the six-power talks with Iran held in Geneva on nuclear issues a productive session that has
opened the door to a positive outcome.
Speaking to reporters at the State Department shortly after the Iran talks ended, Clinton cautioned that it was too soon to know whether Iran would respond with the concrete actions that she said the United States is anticipating.
