Obama, EU leaders call on Iran to meet its obligations

Washington, 4 November (WashingtonTV)—US President Barack Obama and European Union leaders on Tuesday called on Iran to meet its international obligations.

A US-EU summit in Washington agreed on “sending a clear message to Tehran that we want them to be a full member of the community of nations, but that they have to act consistent with international rules and responsibilities with respect to their nuclear program,” Obama said.

Obama was speaking after talks with EU Commission chief, Jose Manuel Barroso, EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who holds the rotating EU presidency.

The call came as pressure mounted on Iran to accept a United Nations-brokered nuclear fuel deal, under which it would send most of its low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, has joined the U.S., Russia, France and Britain in calling for Iran’s prompt response to the deal, which was drawn up last month.

Iran has asked the nuclear watchdog to establish a technical commission to address Tehran’s concerns regarding the nuclear fuel deal.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday urged Iran to accept the proposal as is, saying it would not be changed.

On Tuesday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Tehran would reject any talks with world powers if the outcome was pre-determined by Washington.

Source: White House website

© WashingtonTV 2009. All rights reserved.