Iran rules out dialogue with the U.S.

1/25/2005 8:00:00 PM GMT

The Iranian government has ruled out the possibility of opening talks with the U.S. while George Bush is president as there would be no major change in policy toward Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.

According to the government's spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, "Given that the U.S. government has started its new term with threats, it is clear that no major change has occurred in the American's policy."

Ramezanzadeh also rejected recent American officials' remarks concerning Iran, which many analysts took to mean that Washington could possibly launch military attacks on the Islamic Republic.

"We will use the same language if anyone chooses to use a language of force and threats against us. But if they opt to engage in dialogue without any precondition on an equal footing, we will consider that," the spokesman said.

President Bush said on Jan. 17 that he would not rule out military actions against Iran. One day later, Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice urged the world to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and threatened to refer Tehran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council.

Vice-President Cheney followed suit and at the inauguration ceremony said that Iran was ranked top of a list of global trouble spots.

However, Ramezanzadeh played down the comments, saying "It is now 26 years that we have got used to the US threats. Neither is the US in a position to have the capacity to attack us, nor are we in a position in which anyone would dare to attack us."

Ramezanzadeh's statement came after the Iranian government's warning on Sunday in which they warned that any attack on their country would be a "major strategic blunder" and reiterated that its nuclear activities were strictly for peaceful means.

Diplomatic talks

Hamid-Reza Asefi, the Iranian Foreign Ministry's spokesman said in a news briefing that U.S. officials comments were mainly aimed at pressurising the EU into following their policy in relation to the Iranian nuclear issue. He further added that Washington was motivated by a desire to launch religious and cultural wars.

"The US actually likes to see Europe fail in its talks with Iran. Militarism is the main reason behind the comments," Asefi said, referring to the ongoing negotiations between the EU and Tehran on the nuclear issue and trade cooperation. "The negotiations between the two sides are going favorably," he added.

On Monday, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder spoke out against the use of force against Iran over its nuclear program saying that the talks between the EU and Iran were aimed at preventing the country from getting nuclear weapons.

"We are of the opinion that this must be pursued with diplomatic, not military, means," Schroeder told a press conference after meeting with visiting Chilean President Ricardo Lagos.