[Reuters ] Dan Williams and Susan Cornwell - U.S. diplomat William Burns, who joined envoys from other world powers for a July 19 meeting with Iran, hosted Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz on Thursday for routine bilateral consultations known as the "strategic dialogue." Mofaz's spokeswoman, Talia Somech, said, "He (Mofaz) urged the Americans to set firm conditions, such as a refusal to allow the Iranians to enrich uranium on their turf, and to be clear that the deadline must be preserved. The Iranians are simply looking for cracks to exploit." Mofaz said that "all options against Iran should not only be on the table, but prepared," Somech said. The State Department issued a statement after the meeting saying: "The United States and Israel share deep concern about Iran's nuclear program, and the two delegations discussed steps to strengthen diplomatic efforts and financial measures to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability....We also reaffirmed our strong mutual determination to counter Iran's support for terrorism."
2008-08-01 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive