By Xinhua,
Beijing : U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking from Shannon, Ireland, on Monday accused Iran of not being serious at weekend talks about its nuclear program despite the presence of a senior U.S. diplomat, and warned it may soon face new sanctions.
In her first public comments since Saturday’s meeting in Switzerland, Rice said Iran had given the run-around to envoys from the United States and five other world powers. She said all six nations were serious about a two-week deadline Iran now has to agree to freeze suspect activities and start negotiations or be hit with new penalties.
At the meeting, Iran had been expected to respond to a package of incentives offered in exchange for halting enrichment of uranium, which can be used to fuel atomic weapons. The Bush administration broke with long-standing policy to send a top diplomat to support the offer.
However, Rice said that instead of a coherent answer, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili delivered a “meandering” monologue full of irrelevant “small talk about culture” that appeared to annoy many of the others present at the table in Geneva.
Rice’s remarks about the Iranian presentation were much harsher than those of the host of the meeting, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who lamented only that Iran had not provided “all the answers to the questions.”
On Sunday, Iranian state radio reported that President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad called the talks a “step ahead” and said country’s formal assessment would be issued soon.
On Saturday, one member of the Iranian delegation said there was “no chance” Iran would suspend uranium enrichment, again denying assertions that Iran’s nuclear program was for anything other than power production. Jalili avoided the suspension issue entirely.