Diplomats from the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany held a 90-minute telephone conference call Tuesday to discuss a draft plan for new United Nations sanctions against Iran.
"They had a good, constructive conversation, and they will continue to work to finalize the elements of a Security Council resolution," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. He declined to give details of the draft or whether China and Russia, which have opposed new sanctions on Iran, had agreed to it, saying it was too early to say whether there was consensus among the council's veto-wielding members.
According to the Associated Press, U.S. officials have said the draft discussed on Tuesday, which was written by the French, includes sanctions against portions of Iran's military apparatus and against a major bank.
U.S. President George W. Bush called on Iran Tuesday to explain why it had operated a secretive nuclear weapons program, and warned that any such efforts must not be allowed to flourish "for the sake of world peace."
"Iran is dangerous," Bush said after a meeting in the White House with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. "We believe Iran had a secret military weapons program, and Iran must explain to the world why they had a program."
Bush's comments came after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that it was "a step fo
"You have an obligation to explain to the world loud and clear why you had a military program."
rward" that U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded that Tehran stopped developing its nuclear weapons program four years ago.
Olmert: NIE debate 'exaggerated'
In a public address Tuesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said "I attach great importance to the American president's statement that nothing has changed. Iran was and is dangerous."
"The [NIE] report's publication gave rise to an exaggerated debate. Some of us even interpreted the report as an American retreat from supporting Israel. This is utterly baseless."
'The ball is in their court'
In an interview with ABC News on Tuesday, Bush gave an indirect response to Ahmadinejad. "My answer to the Iranians is: You had a hidden program that was a military program," he said. "We think you have shut it down now. You have an obligation to explain to the world loud and clear why you had a military program. Do you intend to start it up again. In other words, the ball is in their court."
Iran has claimed its nuclear program was intended for peaceful ends. Last week, a U.S. intelligence report said there was no evidence of a current military nuclear program. However, the report also revealed that such a program had existed covertly until 2003.
"Iran has an obligation to explain to the IAEA why they hid this program from them," Bush said, referring to the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency.
Bush's comments reflected a renewed effort to keep pressure on Iran after the release of last week's National Intelligence Estimate, following which Ahmadinejad told reporters that an "entirely different" situation between the United States and Iran could be created if more steps like the NIE report followed. "We consider this measure by the U.S. government a positive step. It is a step forward," Ahmadinejad said.
"If one or two other steps are taken, the issues we have in front of us will be entirely different and will lose their complexity, and the way will be open for the resolution of basic issues in the region and in dealings between the two sides," the Iranian president said. White House press secretary Dana Perino dismissed Ahmadinejad's comments as "fanciful thinking."
Meanwhile, the New York Times reviewed Ahmadinejad's blog, which it noted was relatively tame and included surprisingly uncensored reader comments.
"You are a terrible, despicable human being. You WILL be attacked by the US or Israel and will be destroyed," wrote one British reader, under the caption "YOUR GONE" [sic]. Another reader, from the U.S., wrote: "Shut up please, would you? I get headache reading your nonsense stuff." Someone writing under the name Xochitl told the president-turned-blogger: "I think you are an evil leader. Freedom and tolerance are necessities in this day and age, and the fact that your country kills intellectuals, journalists, minorities, etc. is horrible and deeply disturbing."