Ahmadinejad has invited most Western powers – but not the United States – to tour its nuclear sites, but the European Union says it probably will decline.
Responding to the exclusion of the U.S. government, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters sarcastically Tuesday, “We’re just crushed,” adding that the invitation is “a publicity stunt.”
In answer to an equally sarcastic question if Crowley was upset that he “didn’t get this invitation for the all-inclusive, all-expenses-paid luxury tour of Iranian nuclear facilities,” Crowley said, “We keep checking our inbox, and no invitation has materialized. So – but I mean, these are antics that we’ve seen from Iran in the past where they try to kind of flash a shiny object and said, 'No, don’t look over there; look here.'
“This [is a] magical mystery tour…. If I understand, the invitation is to visit facilities at Natanz and Arak. On the one hand, there’s no need for a special tour to those facilities. The IAEA – which inspectors who do know what they’re looking for, visit these facilities periodically. But we should just be reminded that the IAEA has said that – and made clear that the – Iran has not yet been able to fully answer the questions that have been raised about its nuclear programs.”
The surprising invitation was published on the Iranian-based Hamsayeh news website under the headline, “Iranian President Invites the Arrogant Powers to Join Other Nations of the World.”
Ahmadinejad announced the invitation during a speech in which he said, “The final victory is imminent and the Iranian nation will witness such a day in the near future.’
European officials told Bloomberg News that they would likely decline the invitation because it does not offer the cooperation that the EU has requested.
The invitation is part of a “strategy to try and prevent further sanctions and to get Russia and China to consider rescinding some of the existing ones,” London-based security specialist Jonathan Paris added.
Iran has agreed to talks with the international community but has said it would “absolutely not” suspend the production of enriched uranium, a key material for a nuclear weapon, which Iran denies it wants to produce.