UNITED NATIONS: The US ambassador to the United Nations said yesterday the new US administration would make Iran’s nuclear program a top diplomatic priority and would pursue direct talks with Tehran.
“We remain deeply concerned about the threat that Iran’s nuclear program poses to the region, indeed to the United States and to the entire international community,” Ambassador Susan Rice told reporters after 45 minutes of closed-door discussions with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
“We look forward to engaging in vigorous diplomacy that includes direct diplomacy with Iran,” she said.
The administration of former US President George W. Bush had been pushing last year for a fourth round of UN sanctions against Iran for refusing to suspend its uranium enrichment program.
But the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany — often referred to as the “P5+1” — had put discussions on next steps with Iran on hold until the administration of Barack Obama was in office, council diplomats have said.
The United States, European Union and other Western powers suspect Tehran is amassing the capability to produce nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear ambitions are limited to the peaceful generation of electrify and refuses to freeze a program that it says is its sovereign right to have.
In her first encounter with reporters at the United Nations, Rice gave no specifics about what lay ahead for Iran.
She said Washington would continue its “collaboration and partnership with the P5+1 and we will look at what is necessary and appropriate with respect to maintaining pressure toward that goal of ending Iran’s nuclear program.
“Dialogue and diplomacy must go hand-in-hand with a very firm message from the United States and the international community that Iran needs to meet its obligations as defined by the (UN) Security Council and its continued refusal to do so will only cause pressure to increase,” Rice said.
The new US administration under Obama pledged yesterday to work with the UN, which Rice described as a “vitally important institution” with great potential.
While praising the UN potential, Rice said, “It still has room for improvement.”
“We touched on the challenge about how to make this organization efficient and effective, and pursue the process of reform to make it more suitable to the challenges in the 21st century,” Rice told reporters.
Rice replaced Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan-born US diplomat who was restrained by former president George W Bush’s lukewarm commitment to fighting climate change and adherence to international justice as promoted by the International Criminal Court at The Hague.
On the situation in the Gaza Strip, Rice reiterated the position adopted by the UN and US that the cease-fire between Hamas and Israel must be durable and lasting and that humanitarian relief to Gaza residents must be more effective.
