Talk to Iran? No deal: U.S.
THE WHITE HOUSE denied a report Saturday that it has a secret deal with Iran to hold oneon-one talks about its nuclear program.
National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said the U.S. is “prepared” to meet with Iran but there is no agreement in place.
The denial came two hours after The New York Times, quoting unnamed administration officials, said there was a pact to start negotiations after the election.
The newspaper later revised its story to say the U.S. and Tehran had “agreed in principle” to talks after years of back-channel efforts to get the two nations together.
“It’s not true that the United States and Iran have agreed to one-on-one talks or any meeting after the American elections,” National Security Coun- cil spokesman Tommy Vietor countered.
“We continue to work with the P5+1 (five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) on a diplomatic solution and have said from the outset that we would be prepared to meet bilaterally.”
Iran’s uranium enrichment program — and the possibility it could build nuclear weapons — has prompted the U.S. and its allies to impose stiff sanctions.
President Obama has vowed to do whatever’s necessary to prevent the volatile nation from getting a nuke but has resisted calls from Israel to draw a “red line” that would trigger military action.
Vietor said the “onus is on the Iranians” to fall in line.
“Otherwise they will contin- ue to face crippling sanctions and increased pressure,” his statement said.
The report of possible talks comes at a sensitive time with the election just two weeks away and a foreign policy debate between Obama and Mitt Romney set for Monday.
Obama has signaled that a military strike would be a last resort. Romney has accused Obama of being weak on Iran, but has given few specifics on what he would do differently.
The Times reported that U.S. and Iranian officials have been communicating about possible talks since soon after Obama took office.
Iranian officials reportedly insisted a sitdown be put off until after the election, so they would know who was in charge.
U.S. officials were concerned that Iran might agree to talks to get the international community off its back or to buy extra time to build a weapon.