Rice offers talks with Iran to suspend uranium enrichment program

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Source: CCTV.com | 02-17-2007 09:25

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, She's offered to meet her Iranian counterparts anywhere, any time, any place. But, only on the condition that Tehran abandons its uranium enrichment program.

Rice warned the house Appropriations Committee in Washington DC on Friday that talks with Iran would be tough, as several previous administrations had attempted to hold talks with Iran and failed over the last 27 years.

Despite this, Rice said she was prepared to talk about any issue that Iran wishes to talk about.

Rice said, "I'd like to pursue the opportunity now. And I want to renew the request to Iran: suspend your enrichment and reprocessing activities - as is required by the resolutions and I'll meet anywhere, any time, any place, with my counterparts to talk about any issue that Iran wishes to talk about."

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday that the US was not looking for an excuse to attack Iran.

Robert Gates said, "For the umpteenth time, we are not looking for an excuse to go to war with Iran. We are not planning a war with Iran."

Gates also said the Quds force, a paramilitary arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, is giving Iraqi insurgents weapons technology.

But he said the US did not know whether Iran's senior officials had ordered the Quds force to do so.

Editor:Du Xiaodan