US: Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear capabilities
Iran-USA, Politics, 5/20/2005

The US secretary of state Condaleezza Rice strongly criticized Iran, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism and standing "opposite to the trend of the Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts."

In conclusion of her meeting with her Kuwaiti counterpart Muhammad al-Sabah, Rice said that the Iranians don't have to think they are apart from the major changes which are taking place in the region. She added she hopes that Iranian will pursue a behavior conducive to more stability.

Meantime, the United States hopes for better relations with Iran, but the onus is on the government in Tehran to change its policies on human rights, weapons of mass destruction and attempts to destabilize the region, says Nicholas Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs.

"In each of these three areas, Iran has a demonstrated track record of moving backwards against the tide of world events," Burns said in prepared testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee May 19.

Burns stressed that the U.S. concerns are with the Iranian government, not the Iranian people, and the United States is proud of its Iranian immigrant community. "..[O]nly a generation ago, 200,000 Iranians were studying in the U.S. The United States is proud to be home to a large community of extremely talented Iranian immigrants who preserve a cultural and personal bridge to Iran where diplomatic contact long ago broke off," Burns said.

Noting that Iran plans to hold a presidential election June 17, Burns said pro-democracy sentiment is strong among the Iranian people, but their aspirations are ignored by the ruling clique, which he said engages in summary executions, forced disappearances and other inhumane treatment.

The under secretary gave examples of Iran's jailing of journalists and rigging of elections.

Commenting on weapons of mass destruction, Burns said Iran has an 18-year history of trying to hide a clandestine nuclear enrichment program aimed at developing nuclear arms. "Iran must not be permitted to develop the capacity to build or deliver a nuclear weapon," Burns said.

He said the Bush administration seeks a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the Iranian nuclear problem and supports the initiative by Britain, France and Germany, known as the EU-3 process, to resolve the impasse.

With regard to Iran's destabilizing impact on the region, Burns said Iran is the most active state sponsor of terrorism in the world, providing money, weapons and training to HAMAS, Hizballah and Palestinian rejectionist groups.

Iran continues to shelter senior al-Qaida leaders wanted in connection with the bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998 and refuses to divulge their identities, Burns said.

He also said Iran has been interfering with attempts to destabilize Afghanistan and Iraq.

"The government in Tehran knows what is expected of it, and must act if it wishes to rejoin the community of civilized nations," Burns declared.

The US has had a long standing policy of "dual containment" against Iraq and Iran. However, the Iraq portion of the policy was changed when Iraq was starting to break out of the containment box politicaly, at which time the US proceeded with a full invasion of Iraq under certain pretexts.

Previous Stories:
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