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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice believes U.S. and European diplomatic efforts will soon bear fruit in the form of international pressure on Iran to desist from its nuclear program. In a wide-ranging interview with TIME on Monday, the secretary of state indicated that Washington is confident of carrying the support of a majority of the 35 members of the board governing the International Atomic Energy Agency for a resolution to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over its failure to disclose numerous aspects of its nuclear program. Still, Rice noted, U.S. and European representatives at the IAEA board...
...think that it will end up in the Security Council if Iran continues down this road," Rice said. "The timing is a matter for diplomacy. When you have a consensus that makes sense, then I think you go with it. We have the votes now, but the question is, do you have enough of a consensus to send the right kind of message." Her caution reflects the difficulties that lie ahead if the administration presses for the Security Council to adopt economic sanctions against Iran - an option that veto-wielders Russia and particularly China, which buys a major share...
...Rice and her lieutenants lobbied hard to gain the support of Russia, China and India at the IAEA for a European resolution referring Iran to the Security Council to be considered by the IAEA board this week. But China, Russia and a number of developing nations on the IAEA board are inclined to give Iran more time to comply with its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty...
...Even though fuel-cycle activities are permitted by the NPT, as Iran will certainly argue in its defense at any security council showdown, Secretary Rice believes that won't wash: "Nobody trusts them." Referring to Iranian President Ahmadi-Nejad's speech to the United Nations Saturday, in which he accused the west of subjecting Iran to "nuclear apartheid" by declaring certain nuclear technologies off-limits to Iran, Rice said mockingly, "Maybe the whole world is wrong and we should all trust them but nobody does. And so their problem is they can argue all they want about what their rights...
...Rice acknowledged the Administration's frustration with the pace imposed by democracy, but believes it will nonetheless strengthen Washington's case: "We believe they should probably have been referred some time ago," she said. "But sometimes in diplomacy it takes time to build a consensus and you're stronger for having done that. Now, at some point people will have to act. But people continue to want to believe that there is a diplomatic solution out there, and there might be, because there are a lot of benefits on the table for the Iranians if they're prepared to take...