German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Saturday that Iran still had to prove to the rest of the world that it was willing to make meaningful concessions regarding its nuclear program. "Our hand is still reaching out towards [Iran]," Westerwelle said on Saturday, February 6. "But so far it's reaching out into a void. And I've seen nothing since yesterday that makes me want to change that view." These comments came 12 hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki - a surprise visitor at this year's Munich Security Conference - said that he expected a deal between his country and Western powers "in the not very distant future." Westerwelle called for combined efforts world-wide to reduce both conventional and nuclear weapons and stressed that the international community could not accept a nuclear-armed Iran.
"Our hand is still reaching out towards [Iran]," Westerwelle said on Saturday, February 6. "But so far it's reaching out into a void. And I've seen nothing since yesterday that makes me want to change that view."
These comments came 12 hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki - a surprise visitor at this year's Munich Security Conference - said that he expected a deal between his country and Western powers "in the not very distant future."
Westerwelle called for combined efforts world-wide to reduce both conventional and nuclear weapons and stressed that the international community could not accept a nuclear-armed Iran.
MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials from the U.S. and Europe are keeping the pressure on Iran despite its foreign minister saying earlier Tehran is nearing a deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on a nuclear fuel swap. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told the Munich Security Conference on Friday he was confident of a deal soon with the IAEA on shipping Tehran's low-enriched uranium abroad in exchange for higher-grade fuel that could be used in a civil-purpose reactor. While noting "the door for diplomacy with Iran remains open", U.S. National Security Adviser James Jones warned of tighter sanctions against Tehran, saying Iran's "puzzling defiance" compels Washington and its allies to a second track of increased pressure. "Hanging in the balance is a nuclear arms race in the Middle East and greater proliferation concerns worldwide. I can think of no issue of greater concern at the moment," he said.
MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials from the U.S. and Europe are keeping the pressure on Iran despite its foreign minister saying earlier Tehran is nearing a deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on a nuclear fuel swap.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told the Munich Security Conference on Friday he was confident of a deal soon with the IAEA on shipping Tehran's low-enriched uranium abroad in exchange for higher-grade fuel that could be used in a civil-purpose reactor.
While noting "the door for diplomacy with Iran remains open", U.S. National Security Adviser James Jones warned of tighter sanctions against Tehran, saying Iran's "puzzling defiance" compels Washington and its allies to a second track of increased pressure.
"Hanging in the balance is a nuclear arms race in the Middle East and greater proliferation concerns worldwide. I can think of no issue of greater concern at the moment," he said.
