| Date: 22/05/2012 Time: 11:38:00 PM |
It is time for the Iranians to act to defuse
concerns about its nuclear program, White House press secretary Jay Carney
said on Tuesday.
"The potential for a diplomatic solution here remains, and it is the best
possible solution to this problem," Carney said during a briefing.
"That is why President Barack Obama has put not only significant US
resources into this effort, but has rallied the international community in
support of this effort -- not just the negotiations, but everything that
preceded it, which was unifying the international community, creating a
consensus about Iranian behavior, creating a broad coalition of nations that
have agreed to the most stringent sanctions regime in history, a regime that
has resulted in real impacts on the Iranian economy and the Iranian political
situation," Carney said.
But Obama has made clear that "there is not an infinite amount of time here
for the Iranians to act," Carney added. "That is why it is so important for
them to take seriously these negotiations, to take seriously the opportunity
created here for Iran to rejoin the community of nations if the leadership so
chooses to".
Responding to the announcement that the International Atomic Energy Agency
and Iran reached agreement on how to move forward in resuming inspections of
Iranian nuclear facilities, Carney said, "The announcement today is a step
forward. It is an agreement in principle that represents a step in the right
direction. But, as we have said in the past about the totality of Iran's
obligations and their fulfillment of them, we will make judgments about Iran's
behavior based on actions, not just promises or agreements". |