remarks by department spokesman ian kelley
on
iran and the iaea
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
October 26, 2009
Excerpts
. . .
QUESTION: Ian, what do you guys make out of the inspection over the weekend of the Qom facility?
MR. KELLY: I think we’ve seen the reports on it. This is, of course, an IAEA-led investigation, and so we’re deferring to them for any kind of information on the inspection.
QUESTION: Have you – but you were – presumably, you were briefed on it, right?
MR. KELLY: Well, I’m not sure that we have been briefed on it. I mean, this just happened yesterday.
QUESTION: No? Okay. Then is there any update on the P-5+1, when or whether they will meet again with the Iranians?
MR. KELLY: I know that there was a telephone conversation today with the political directors from the six countries. Of course, Under Secretary William Burns participated from our end. They discussed the need for unity of the P-5+1 in our approach to the issue of Iran’s nuclear program. They also discussed the way forward on arranging a follow-on meeting to the Geneva meeting, but that’s very much now still in the works. It’s a matter of discussion between Mr. Solana and the Iranian authorities, but nothing’s been set in terms of follow-on --
QUESTION: Is the U.S. position that if the Iranians don’t accept in full what was presented to them on the LEU deal, that there shouldn’t be another meeting?
MR. KELLY: I am not sure that there is any linkage, per se on that – of course, the agreement that was reached in Geneva – to have a proposal go to the Iranians from the IAEA. This was a very important outcome from that meeting of a few weeks ago. But I’m not sure that I would draw any direct linkage between the two.
QUESTION: But doesn’t that mean --
MR. KELLY: Yes, Jill.
QUESTION: -- that they are not fulfilling what they were supposed to fulfill?
MR. KELLY: Well, I think you saw what Mr. El Baradei said on Friday, that they asked for a little more time to review the proposal. And he indicated that we expected an answer by mid-week. So we’ll hold off to see what comes out of that.
. . .