- News>
- World
IAEA report raises concerns about Iran`s nuke activities: Rice
Washington, Nov 14: A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran raises serious concerns about Iran`s nuclear activities, US National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice has said.
Washington, Nov 14: A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran raises serious concerns about Iran's nuclear activities, US National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice has said.
"I think the IAEA report raises very serious concerns about what has been going on in Iran and what might be continuing to go on in Iran," Rice told reporters here.
She said although the IAEA found no evidence that Iran has a nuclear weapons programme, the international community must insist on "performance" from the Iranians in cooperating with the IAEA.
"I saw one Iranian statement that it should lay to rest any concerns about what's going on in Iran. I think that's a, shall I say, an overstatement of the case," she said adding the report made clear that the Iranians have been concealing, that they've not been truthful in the past.
"And I think the issue now is are they going to be truthful in the future? Are they going to come clean about what had been going on Iran, what is going on in Iran? Are they going to agree to verification measures and protocols that give the international community some confidence, given that they weren't transparent in the past, that they're going to be transparent in the future?" Rice said.
"I think that the IAEA report raises very serious concerns about what has been going on in Iran and what might be continuing to go on in Iran," she added.
On Israel, Rice said it was still premature to determine any amount of possible deductions in us loan guarantees to Tel Aviv due to the security fence it was building in the occupied West Bank but the fence remained a "problem."
She said the Bush administration continues to view the fence as "a problem" due to concerns that it could somehow prejudge a territorial solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and that it can infringe on the lives of ordinary Palestinians.
At the same time, Rice said the US appreciates some adjustments Israel has made to the route of the fence. "We'll see what other adjustments they might be able to make."
At a special White House meeting yesterday, rice also elaborated on US plans in Iraq, saying it was necessary to give Iraqis control more quickly because "they are clamouring for it; they are, we believe, ready for it".
She said although the IAEA found no evidence that Iran has a nuclear weapons programme, the international community must insist on "performance" from the Iranians in cooperating with the IAEA.
"I saw one Iranian statement that it should lay to rest any concerns about what's going on in Iran. I think that's a, shall I say, an overstatement of the case," she said adding the report made clear that the Iranians have been concealing, that they've not been truthful in the past.
"And I think the issue now is are they going to be truthful in the future? Are they going to come clean about what had been going on Iran, what is going on in Iran? Are they going to agree to verification measures and protocols that give the international community some confidence, given that they weren't transparent in the past, that they're going to be transparent in the future?" Rice said.
"I think that the IAEA report raises very serious concerns about what has been going on in Iran and what might be continuing to go on in Iran," she added.
On Israel, Rice said it was still premature to determine any amount of possible deductions in us loan guarantees to Tel Aviv due to the security fence it was building in the occupied West Bank but the fence remained a "problem."
She said the Bush administration continues to view the fence as "a problem" due to concerns that it could somehow prejudge a territorial solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and that it can infringe on the lives of ordinary Palestinians.
At the same time, Rice said the US appreciates some adjustments Israel has made to the route of the fence. "We'll see what other adjustments they might be able to make."
At a special White House meeting yesterday, rice also elaborated on US plans in Iraq, saying it was necessary to give Iraqis control more quickly because "they are clamouring for it; they are, we believe, ready for it".