Iran's president challenged his US counterpart George W. Bush to a debate
in front of the UN General Assembly yesterday, as European countries called for
diplomatic ways to solve the Iran nuclear issue.
In a statement posted on his official website, Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad said he was willing to hold a debate with Bush at the UN General
Assembly in mid-September in New York.
"We hope to take our forthcoming visit to New York to attend the UN General
Assembly as an opportunity to hold a debate without any censorship," he said.
"This will allow the people, especially the Americans, to watch and hear the
debate."
The Iranian president said he hoped the Americans would not evade such a
debate because it would be "the best way to create peace."
Earlier in the day, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's ambassador to the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the talks between EU foreign
policy chief Javier Solana and Iranian top negotiator Ali Larijani, scheduled
for Wednesday in Vienna, had been postponed for a couple of days.
Without giving a reason for the delay, he said the talks could take place on
Friday, adding that it was more appropriate for both sides to meet later.
The talks had been tentatively set for Wednesday in a final attempt to see if
there was common ground to start negotiations between Iran and the six nations,
which have offered Iran an incentive package in exchange for Tehran's promise to
suspend its controversial nuclear program.
Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States are to meet in
Berlin on Thursday over the Iran nuclear crisis.
In Washington, Robert Joseph, U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control
and international security, said imposing sanctions on Iran would represent the
next step in U.S. diplomacy.
As the deadline of the UN Security Council Resolution 1696, which required
Iran to suspend uranium enrichment by the end of August, had passed and "since
Iran has not taken the steps required by the IAEA and the Security Council, it
is now essential that we move to adopt sanctions against Iran," Joseph said at a
briefing.
He added that a nuclear-armed Iran was intolerable not only to the United
States, but also to the entire international community.
Nonetheless, Joseph said the United States was continuing to pursue a
diplomatic approach to "stopping Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons."
Also on Wednesday, France warned of a shift towards a "war of civilizations"
between the West and the Muslim world, in reference to Bush's remarks comparing
the Iranian regime with the terrorist group al-Qaida.
"We cannot accept a 'war of civilizations' between a 'western bloc' and a
'Muslim bloc'," French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told the
Monte-Carlo Radio (RMC) regarding Bush's remarks on Tuesday.
He reaffirmed that Tehran's attitude of refusing to suspend its sensitive
nuclear activities, as asked by the international community, was not
"satisfying."
However, Douste-Blazy said that "more than ever we must keep open a dialogue
with Tehran" over the issue.
In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the international
community would take action if Iran refused to quit its nuclear program.
"Iran's answers have not satisfied us," she told the parliament. "The door
for diplomacy will not be shut but we will not merely look on without taking
action."
But she did not give any details of the possible action, reaffirming that
Germany opposes use of force as she said, "The military option is not an option
for Iran."
Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Premier Massimo D'Alema also said
diplomacy and not force was the only way to resolve Iran's nuclear standoff with
the West.
"Italy does not want Iran to have nuclear weapons but the solution must be
found on a political level and through negotiations," he told reporters in Rome.
D'Alema said he hoped "tensions" between the United States and Iran could be
overcome and that talks between the EU and Tehran would "open the path to a
peaceful, negotiated solution" to the crisis.