Weapon Program:
- Nuclear
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QUESTION: Just one - sorry, one more on Vice President Cheney. He also said that he thinks that the military option should have never been off the table. He was more in favor of military action than some in the previous administration, and he says that the idea that Iran is not concerned that there could be some kind of military option doesn't give an incentive to negotiate or to follow through on any type of engagement by this Administration.
MR. KELLY: Yeah. Well, we have - with Iran as well, we have a clear way forward. And that is for Iran to respond to our offer and the offer of Javier Solana to sit down in the P-5+1 context and to discuss the very real concerns of the international community about the nature of Iran's nuclear program. So that's where we are right now with Iran. I think you've heard the President and others say that this kind of offer is not going to be on the table forever. We're hoping that in the next month or so that we can move forward with it. But right now, that's the proposal on the table.
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QUESTION: The IAEA report that came out late last week said that 300 fewer centrifuges are now in operation in Iran. Is this due to perhaps technical problems or a result of some productive negotiations?
MR. KELLY: Yeah, I think the short answer to that is is that we're - I just don't have the information to comment on what the reasons were for X number of centrifuges. What I can tell you that - this report, although I have not read it all the way through and I don't have all the details of it, but it clearly shows Iran's continued lack of cooperation with the international community.
It continues to refuse to suspend all proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities, as required by the UN Security Council. It's continued to install centrifuges, enrich uranium, and construct the Iraq heavy water research reactor. And it has refused to address in a real, sustained and complete way the very real concerns of the international community about the intent of Iran's nuclear program. And this report is yet another report in a series of reports that have pointed this out.
And as you know, on Wednesday, there will be a meeting of the political directors of the P-5+1 group in Germany. And this report, of course, will be a real, important discussion item for that group.
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