Thursday, February 05, 2009

AFP, Berlin, Feb 4, 2009 (excerpts) – Senior diplomats from six world powers met Wednesday for the first time under the new US administration to discuss Iran’s nuclear ambitions, two days after Tehran launched its first satellite.
Political directors from the UN Security Council permanent members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — plus Germany met in Wiesbaden near the western German city of Frankfurt, Berlin said.
The directors said in a joint statement afterwards that they had “welcomed the willingness of the US administration, as expressed by President (Barack) Obama, to engage in talks with Iran.”
They emphasised their common commitment to a “diplomatic solution” and urged Iran to cooperate fully with the UN atomic agency, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the statement said.
They also agreed that the US, represented in the talks by Under Secretary of State William Burns, would consult with them on the next steps as Washington continues a review of its policy towards the Islamic republic.
The get-together came two days after Iran set alarm bells ringing by launching a low Earth orbit satellite into space, technology the West fears Tehran could use in the future to carry nuclear warheads.
Iran insists its first home-built Omid (Hope) satellite, launched on Monday, has no military application, but Washington made clear it was unimpressed.
“This action does not convince us that Iran is acting responsibly to advance stability or security in the region,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters on Tuesday.
“Efforts to develop missile delivery capability, efforts to continue on an illicit nuclear programme, or threats that Iran makes toward Israel and its sponsorship of terror are of acute concern to this administration,” Gibbs said.
In an interview with Al-Arabiya satellite television network, Obama said last week that Washington would offer Iran an “extended hand” if Iran’s leaders “unclenched their fist.”
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad, having earlier congratulated Obama on his election, came out with a fiery speech last Wednesday, demanding that he apologise for “crimes” against Iran and “stop supporting the Zionists.”