Europe Call Off Iran Negotiations
The talks that were planned for the 31st of August have been cancelled after Iran made the decision to resume nuclear fuel activities - which could eventually lead (in theory) to the production of nuclear weapons.
“We can’t continue with formal negotiations as if nothing happened,” said Jean-Baptiste Mattei, chief spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry. “The suspension of their fuel activities was the basis for our negotiations. By resuming some of those activities the Iranians have effectively suspended the agreement these talks were based on.”
Now that talks have finally broken down, something that was inevitable given that Europe was essentially trying to deny Iran basic rights over nuclear development, calls have once again been made to report Iran to the UN security council. However, the UN have again supported Iranian claims that Uranium was brought to, not made in Iraq, and that the report due to be issued soon by the IAEA would also support Iranian claims that a weapons program simply does not exist, as they have yet to find any evidence of it.
Now that that talking has ceased, is the next step action? Will Bush use the breakdown in talks to fuel his pre-emptive strikes? We’ll have to wait for word from the White House.
August 25th, 2005 at 11:51 pm
[...] After Europe initially called off talks after Iran began enrichment activities, but now French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy has stated: “We are suspending the negotiations,†he told France Inter radio. “But at the same time, we think it is still possible to talk to them … There is no reason to close the door on Iran.†[...]