US rhetoric ignores Iran nuclear proposals

[unhappycamper]

http://atimes.com/atimes/World/WOR-01-270114.html



US rhetoric ignores Iran nuclear proposals
By Gareth Porter
Jan 27, '14

WASHINGTON - Iran's pushback against statements by US Secretary of State John Kerry and the White House that Tehran must "dismantle" some of its nuclear program, and the resulting political uproar over it, indicates that tough US rhetoric may be adding new obstacles to the search for a comprehensive nuclear agreement.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview with CNN's Jim Sciutto on Wednesday, "We are not dismantling any centrifuges, we're not dismantling any equipment, we're simply not producing, not enriching over 5%."

When CNN's Fareed Zakaria asked President Hassan Rouhani, "So there would be no destruction of centrifuges?" Rouhani responded, "Not under any circumstances. Not under any circumstances."

Those statements have been interpreted by US news media, unaware of the basic technical issues in the negotiations, as indicating that Iran is refusing to negotiate seriously. In fact, Zarif has put on the table proposals for resolving the remaining enrichment issues that the Barack Obama administration has recognized as serious and realistic.

The Obama administration evidently views the rhetorical demand for "dismantling" as a minimum necessary response to Israel's position that the Iranian nuclear program should be shut down. But such rhetoric represents a serious provocation to a Tehran government facing accusations of surrender by its own domestic critics.

[newfie11]

1. American war drums

The lust for war never stops.