"The goal very simply is to give Iran a chance, without sanctions or with sanctions, to give a clear statement of policy with regard to their future ambitions concerning the development of nuclear weapons and the delivery means to go with them. As long as there's an open question on both of those issues, then Iran is just asking the world to trust them. And Iran hasn't reached that status in the world where people will just trust them."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126049205433686663.html
A "clear statement of policy"? Matters don't work that way in the Middle East. Iran's indirect response as reported by the Tehran Times:
"Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani says Iran is seeking 'serious and transparent' talks with the West about its nuclear program in order to build mutual confidence. But threatening to impose sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program is the wrong course of action for the West to take, the former Iranian president told Lebanon’s Al-Manar television in an interview aired on Thursday.
In pursuing a policy of threats toward Iran, the West is making a mistake, he asserted. The Islamic Republic does not seek nuclear weapons, 'but it will never give up its efforts to gain access to nuclear energy meant for peaceful purposes,' he added."
http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=209640
Meanwhile, at a regional security conference in Bahrain, Iranian Foreign Minister Manochehr Mottaki added:
"Iran is ready to exchange the bulk of its stockpile of enriched uranium for nuclear fuel rods — as proposed by the U.N. — but according to its own mechanisms and timetable."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091212/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_nuclear
Will Iran's doublespeak continue to bewilder Obama and Jones? Let's watch and see if the U.S., preoccupied with Aghanistan, agrees to a new line in the sand, all in accordance with Tehran's game plan.
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