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US dismisses talk of compromise on Iran
(AP)
Updated: 2006-03-07 07:25
The U.N.'s atomic energy agency voted last month to refer the Iran dispute to
the Security Council. "There is no obstacle to that discussion being taken up
and we certainly believe that will happen shortly," Casey said.
North Korea took a civilian nuclear program and quickly turned it into a
bomb-making program, Casey said.
The process of bringing Iran before the Security Council has been delayed
several times. The European Union attempted to negotiate with Iran with the aim
of halting the program in exchange for economic concessions. Then Russia came up
with its enrichment proposal.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was due to have dinner in Washington
on Monday evening with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and then meet
Tuesday with President Bush and Rice.
On Wednesday, Lavrov is due to meet in New York with U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan.
On his way to Washington, Lavrov stopped in Ottawa for talks with Canadian
officials. Russian news agencies quoted him as saying Russia's proposal to shift
Iran's uranium enrichment to Russia remains on the negotiating table but Iran
must suspend enrichment on Iranian territory.
In Vienna, headquarters for the nuclear watchdog group, ElBaradei said the
Council might not have to explore Iran's actions. "I am still very much hopeful
that in the next week an agreement could be reached," he said.
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