Iran Welcomes Clinton’s Remarks Ruling out Deadline for N-Dialouge
Iran has welcomed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement that the West would not insist on a hard-and-fast deadline for commencing dialogue over Tehran’s controversial nuclear programme.
Clinton on Monday had said that the US has started discussing with its allies methods of ‘pressure and sanctions’ to take on Iran. Also, she stressed that the objective was to keep the door to dialogue open so as to stop Tehran without harming innocent civilians.
“We share the same idea with her. Deadlines are meaningless,” Iranian government spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on response on Tuesday.
Needless to mention, the US and its allies have blamed Iran for developing nuclear weapons while Tehran has always denied the charge saying that its programme is for peaceful purposes.
“Our goal is to pressure the Iranian government, particularly the Revolutionary Guard elements without contributing to the suffering of ordinary (Iranians) who deserve better than what they are currently receiving,” Clinton had said on Monday.
About the statement, a State Department official said that the goal was to keep the ‘door to dialogue’ open, but added that the US ‘would not wait forever’.
“We have avoided using the term ‘deadline’ ourselves, since we have made clear that the door to dialogue will remain open,” said the official. “But we have also made clear that we will not wait forever, and discussions on pressure and sanctions with our international partners have already begun.”
The official said that the US and its allies remained committed to the Iranian opposition’s efforts to reform the Islamic system, amid a violent crackdown which has left dozens of demonstrators dead and hundreds more arrested.
