A Nuclear ‘Litmus Test’

Why do they need three more months? If they want to come clean, let them come clean.
What option do we have other than to continue? As long as Iran is ready to cooperate, well, I have to accept yes for an answer. Unless we get the parties to the negotiating table we will never find a durable solution. You can delay a program [with military action], you can disrupt a program, but if you really want a comprehensive solution it has to be negotiated.

What if in three months Iran hasn ' t delivered? If this diplomacy isn ' t backed by a credible threat of force, the Iranians can stall and keep enriching and eventually they will have the material that could go into a bomb.
If Iran were to prove that it was using this period for delaying tactics and it was not really acting in good faith, then, obviously, nobody—nobody—will come to its support when people call for more sanctions or for punitive measures. That is a point that has been made very clear to them by everybody, including myself. If we come [back] with a negative report after three months, I don't see that anybody will come and say, well, give them another chance.

© 2007