Iran, nestled between Iraq and Afghanistan, may have something in common with its two neighbors in the near future. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, whose name sounds like a Mexican dish, continued the Bush administration's tough talk against the Persian country during her diplomatic visit to Europe. The European Union wants to take the diplomatic route in dealing with Iran, but the United States seems to be doing its best to continue its pre-emptive striking ways. The sad part is all of the useless deaths that will ensue if such an attack becomes reality. The ironic part is that Iran does have elections, which have been deemed fair. However, a non-elected Grand Ayatollah does hold significant power over the nation's policies. Some Iranian people have protested in the streets of Tehran in recent years, demanding further democratic reforms. Every effort must be made to achieve this goal peacefully. Any United States military attacks must be stopped in the name of peace.
Here are excerpts from the article:
Rice Seeks to Define New Tone for US-EU Ties
By Saul Hudson
Reuters
"But on Iran, Rice remained firm.
She rejected a week of European lobbying that culminated with French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier pleading in public for more U.S. support for the region's negotiations over the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions.
Rather than woo Europe with pledges to become more involved in the talks that offer Iran economic incentives for scrapping some nuclear work, Rice pushed back and told the negotiators, Britain, Germany and France, to get tough.
They needed to join the U.S. hardline and threaten Tehran with referral to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions, she said.
"(The) Iranians need to hear that if they are unwilling to take the deal, really, that the Europeans are giving ... then the Security Council referral looms," she told Fox News. "I don't know that anyone has said that as clearly as they should to the Iranians."
Iran denies U.S. charges it seeks nuclear weapons. But President Mohammad Khatami said on Wednesday the country would never abandon its quest to master nuclear technology, including uranium enrichment that can help produce power or bombs.
Despite European engagement, the uncompromising stands of Iran and the United States could be the world's worst geopolitical crisis of the next few years and spark a replay of the divisive Iraq war, according to some political analysts."
link: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7586517&src=rss/topNews
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