Washington: The United States is determined
to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, the White
House has said, adding that it hasn`t removed any options from
its table, even though it believes there is time and space to
pursue diplomacy.
"We are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear
weapons. We take no option off the table when looking at how
to deal with Iranian behaviour," White House Press Secretary
Jay Carney told reporters.
However, the Obama Administration believes that there is
time and space to pursue diplomacy, to pressure the Iranian
regime, to further press sanctions to get it to change its
behaviour, he noted.
"There is a path out of this dead end that Iran has been
pursuing, which is to honour its international obligations,
forsake its nuclear weapon ambitions, and rejoin the
international community by living up to its obligations," he
said.
"We believe that the policy that we have pursued with our
partners has put unprecedented pressure on Tehran, on the
regime, has put great strains on the Iranian economy, great
strains on the Iranian political leadership, and that is a
course that we will continue to pursue," Carney said.
The US, he said, is keenly aware of the fact that Iran
has continued to fail to live up to its obligations, continued
to behave in a way that casts doubt on its intentions with its
nuclear programme, continued to engage in the kind of rhetoric
that makes this process even more difficult for Iran.
"It has also made the world aware of the fact that these
sanctions that have been engaged in by the international
community have had significant impact," he said, adding, "We
work with our allies to step up the pressure every day, every
week. We are committed, as Israel is, to preventing Iran from
acquiring a nuclear weapon.
"We have pursued a policy that we believe there is time
and space at this point to have an effect, to have the result
that we desire."
Reiterating that Iran has failed to live upto the
international obligations, he said, "Iran clearly is not
living up to its international obligations by refusing to take
steps to assure the international community that it is not
pursuing nuclear weapons."
"That is why we have engaged in the kind of intense
effort through sanctions and other means to pressure Tehran,
to pressure the Iranian regime, and why our allies in Europe
and around the world have joined with us in that effort. And
that effort has had demonstrable effect," he claimed.
As a result of President Obama`s relentless efforts,
Carney said, Iran is under intense economic pressure.
"It is isolated in ways that it never has been before and
it is experiencing strains in its political leadership because
of the pressure of the international community. That`s the
action that this President, this administration has taken
since day one," he said.
PTI
