At a State Department press conference, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice confirmed Bush administration negotiations with Tehran are at an "advanced stage," with a letter describing a new package of incentives prepared by European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana for direct delivery to Iranian government.
Rice's announcement yesterday directly contradicted statements in recent days by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, who has contended Iran is pursuing the development of nuclear weapons because the Bush administration has refused to talk directly with Tehran, or has refused to hold talks at a head-of-state level.
Speaking with Rice, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters the European Union was "in advanced discussions with the Iranian authorities" about the transmission of refreshed incentives for halting the enrichment of uranium, that the U.S. – together with the EU-3 of France, Germany and Great Britain, along with Russia and China – agreed to in a May 2 meeting in London.
Miliband said the incentives package would be delivered directly to the Iranian government through an announcement in the international press.
Miliband stressed the package would be presented by a direct communication because, "It's important the government and people of Iran understand the depth of the package."
He indicated a diplomatic letter had been prepared for delivery to the Iranian government, emphasizing, "But we're also very, very clear that our own package needs to be addressed very, very carefully by the Iranian regime, and that's the basis on which we should go forward."
He emphasized that the international community making the offer were hopeful the Iranian government would see "the potential benefits for the Iranian people of engaging in a serious way with the offer that is going to be made to them."
Rice agreed, commenting the "Iranian problem is not just America's problem. It is an international issue."
"Iran is an issue on which the international community is united in confronting Iran with the choices before it, either to suspend its enrichment and reprocessing efforts, which would – could lead to the knowledge and technologies that could lead to a nuclear weapons – or face continued isolation," Rice said.
"That policy has resulted in three Security Council resolutions. The U.K., Germany, France, Russia and China have been united in putting forward three Security Council Resolutions," she continued.
Rice argued the diplomatic pressure placed on Iran by the U.S., the EU-3, Russia and China have created a "reputational and investment risk of dealing in Iran" that has caused "a drying up of investment in Iran's infrastructure" as well as a drying up of investment in Iran's oil capacity and export credits.
Since 2005, the Bush administration has pursued a policy of negotiating with Iran through the international community, working directly with the EU-3, the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency and the U.N. Security Council.
According to the BBC, Iran defiantly announced in April a plan to install as many as 6,000 new advanced-design centrifuges in Natanz to enrich uranium.
"The capacity of these new machines is five times greater than the current machines," Ahmadinejad bragged at a televised event in Tehran.
Iran has consistently refused to accept offers from Russia to be provided with Russian enriched uranium for civilian purposes, in return for an agreement to cease uranium enrichment in Iran.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has consistently insisted Iran has the right to pursue the "full cycle" of peaceful nuclear power development, including uranium enrichment.
Â
Â
Â