Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday that Iran "seems to be moving in the right direction" in disclosing details of its nuclear plans but he was still not satisfied Tehran had abandoned all attempts to produce nuclear weapons.
Powell made his comments after talks with EU foreign ministers over whether to declare Iran in violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Powell said he and the EU ministers had "a very candid discussion" about a draft IAEA resolution that stops short of declaring Iran in noncompliance. "We had some reservations ... about whether the resolution is strong enough to convey to the world the difficulties that we have had with Iran over the years," Powell said, according to The AP.
"The fact of the matter is Iran has been in noncompliance. It's a position the United States has taken for some time and finally the facts became clear to all."
Powell said it "remains to be seen" if a resolution can be adopted unanimously. "That will be the subject of intense discussions in Vienna over the next couple of days."
"I am pleased that Iran seems to be moving in the right direction now," Powell said. "But we can't be satisfied until Iran has demonstrated that all of the programs it had been pursuing have now been made known ... and they are now being brought to a halt." (Albawaba.com)
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