As part of the American PR offensive for the 6th round of talks between Iran and the 5+1 Powers on a comprehensive nuclear deal — opening today in Vienna — US Secretary of State John Kerry chose a tone of warning in The Washington Post: “If Iran is not ready to (reach an agreement), international sanctions will tighten and Iran’s isolation will deepen.”
See Kerry Warns Tehran Over Nuclear Talks — Why?
Britain’s William Hague is more conciliatory in a press release: “The benefits of a comprehensive deal for Iran are clear: if Iran is willing to take the steps needed, significant economic benefits will follow.”
And Iran? Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif chooses a slickly-made video with a mix of chiding of the US, sadness over the cost of sanctions, defiance…and finally hope:
The Bush administration torpedoed the deal by demanding that we abandon enrichment, altogether.
They then opted for pressure and sanctions. For 8 years.The sanctions were crippling — even deadly; literally.
Iranian cancer patients could not buy medicine with their own money….
But sanctions did not cripple our nuclear program….Refusing to sell fuel for our American-built research reactor, forced us to produce our own fuel by increasing enrichment levels: from 3.5% to 20%….
We are willing to take concrete measures to guarantee that our nuclear program will always remain peaceful.
We still have time to put an end to the myth that Iran is seeking to build a bomb….
My government remains committed to ending this unnecessary crisis by July 20th. I hope my counterparts are, too.
