Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on “partners in Europe and beyond” today to help exploit what she described as Iran’s weaknesses to boost pressure on the regime to curtail its nuclear ambitions.
“The Iranian government is dangerous,” Yet Iran has vulnerabilities,” including economic troubles and a “discredited ideology,” Rice said in a meeting in Washington.
Iran continues “to inch closer to a nuclear weapon under the cover of talk,” Rice told the meeting, drawing a standing ovation.
“The world needs to rise to this challenge,” Rice said. She asked other governments to “impose greater costs on the regime.”
“Diplomacy is not a synonym for talking,” Rice said. “The real question is not, ’Why won’t the Bush administration talk to Iran.’ The real question is, ’Why won’t Tehran talk to us?”’