Terming Iran’s nuclear deal with Brazil and Turkey as a positive step, the White House has said “the words and deeds of Iran has never coincided” but insisted that this is less than what the Iranian regime had agreed to last year.
“If they were to make good on this and ship out 1,200 kg of low-enriched uranium, yes, that would represent progress. But, it is important to understand that this agreement / proposal is less than what they agreed to last October,” White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs said.
“And understand that even though they agreed to this last October, it never came to pass because they changed their mind. So that’s why I say the words and the deeds of the leadership in Iran have rarely coincided,” he said.
The Press Secretary said while shipping out low—enriched uranium would represent some progress, US and the international community still has concerns about the overall thrust of the nuclear program.
“Certainly the 20—per cent enrichment is something that (the Russian) President (Dmitry) Medvedev and others, including us, share great concern about,” he said. The proposal does not appear to address Tehran’s recent announcement of increasing its enrichment to 20 per cent, a justification that the research reactor was used as the direct justification for doing so, he argued.
“That, in and of itself, would make them non—compliant with their obligations and responsibilities,” Gibbs said adding that Iran should submit the proposal directly to the IAEA to evaluate, fine print and all, so that the international community can take a look.
“But it does not change the steps that we are taking to hold Iran responsible for its obligations, and those including sanctions,” he said.
Responding to a question if this deal would unravel U.S.’ effort to impose sanctions against Iran through the UN Security Council, Mr. Gibbs said, “It is important to understand what this proposal signifies is less than what they agreed to last October —— an understanding that the words and the deeds of the Iranian leadership rarely coincide.”
The international community has to see the proposal in its detail through the IAEA before it can make a final determination, Mr. Gibbs said.
