"The Iranians should know that this is not going to be a matter that they can stall," Rice told reporters after talks with her Italian counterpart Franco Frattini at her office. "The world is watching...," she said.

Asked if there was no satisfactory response from Iran, Rice said, "We have been very clear that we have two tracks -- if one track is not working, then we are going to have to go to the other."

She was referring to the offer of six-power talks with Iran weighed against the threat of increased international punitive sanctions against the country.

Already under three sets of UN Security Council sanctions, Iran has been given a two-week deadline expiring Saturday on a final answer to the offer by the permanent UN Security Council members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany.

The offer includes trade incentives and help with a civilian nuclear program in return for Iran suspending uranium enrichment, a process which could be used to make a nuclear bomb.

The offer was officially made earlier this month by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, the pointman for the world powers in talks with Iran.

"This is a very, very beneficial package for Iran. But Iran can't have it both ways," Rice said.

On Monday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed the hope that negotiations to end the nuclear crisis would yield progress with both sides finding "common ground" in competing proposals.

Rice said Iran should accept the international offer "to demonstrate that they believe there's common ground."

"This is a good basis for the beginning of pre-negotiations within a six- week period," she said.

Under the offer to Tehran, world powers offered to start pre-negotiations during which Tehran would add no more uranium-enriching centrifuges and in return face no further sanctions -- the so-called "freeze-for-freeze" approach.

Italian minister Frattini told Iran that it was "simply not possible to keep a negative role by continuing" with its uranium enrichment activities.

The prospect of Iran making a nuclear bomb "is simply not acceptable. This is the Italian position, which is very firm," he said.

Tehran insists its nuclear program is designed solely for civilian use.

Rice on Tuesday also held talks Tuesday with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, whose country considers Iran its greatest threat.

Barak said he told senior US officials he met in Washington that "Iran is a major threat to the stability of the whole world and to any considerable world order" and that sanctions against the Islamic republic should be stepped up.

"But ultimately no options could be removed from the table," he said.

Although the United States and Israel continue to say diplomatic and economic sanctions could still dissuade Iran from continuing its nuclear program, the close allies have refused to rule out military action.

Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear armed state in the Middle East although it has a policy of neither confirming or denying it has a nuclear arsenal and does not allow international inspections.

related report
Economic, political pressure on Iran is best: Pentagon
Washington believes economic and political pressure are the best ways to dissuade Iran from seeking atomic weapons, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday, following an appeal by Israel's defense minister to keep "all options" on the table.

The comments followed a closely held meeting at the Pentagon Monday between Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

"I think the Israelis are keenly aware that we believe the best possible avenue of dissuading the Iranians from pursuing nuclear weapons is through economic and political pressures," said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary.

"We certainly understand that the Israelis view a nuclear Iran as an existential threat -- they have made that abundantly clear to us, to the world. And we are working diligently to prevent that from happening," he said.

"But the way we are focusing our efforts is on diplomatic, economic, financial pressures," he said.

Morrell added that "a military option is always available to us. It's not our first choice."

The Israeli defense ministry, meanwhile, said Barak had urged Gates to keep all options open.

"A policy that consists of keeping all options on the table must be maintained," it quoted Barak as saying.

"Iran's plans pose a threat to regional and global stability. We insist that it is vital to continue tightening the economic and financial sanctions imposed on the Iranians," he said.

The United States and Israel are both convinced that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran insists that it is for civilian energy purposes only and has defied international sanctions against it.

Despite the difference in emphasis, Morrell said the two sides had a "shared strategic vision and a common understanding of the threats to the Middle East and emanating from it."

Gates assured Barak that they would explore providing Israel with additional defensive capabilities, Morrell said.

The Pentagon press secretary declined to confirm an Israeli statement that the capabilities included a forward deployed missile defense radar, missile early warning launch data, and counter-measures against short-range rockets and mortars.

Morrell said the Barak-Gates meeting was kept small on purpose to keep details from getting out.

Gates was accompanied by Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Eric Edelman, the undersecretary of defense for policy. Barak was with the Israeli ambassador to Washington and a general, Morrell said.

The meeting came amid a continuing diplomatic impasse with Iran over its nuclear drive and just days after Tehran announced that its uranium enrichment facility in Natanz has now expanded to 6,000 centrifuges.

It also came after the United States on July 19 took the unprecedented step of sending a top diplomat to meet Iran's chief negotiator at talks in Geneva aimed at resolving the standoff.

Washington also indicated it was considering sending diplomatic personnel to Tehran to open a US interests section there.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News