State Dept. Daily Press Briefing September 22, 2005
Daily Press Briefing
Sean McCormack, Spokesman
Washington, DC
September 22, 2005
INDEX:
NORTH KOREA
Assistant Secretary Hill Travel Plan / Returning to Beijing for
Next Round of Talks in November
IRAN
IAEA Discussions / Noncompliance with International Obligations /
Support of EU-3 Decision on Reporting Iran to Security Council /
Working with Board of Governors / Working of Draft Language
Discussion with Russia and Foreign Minister Lavrov / Building
Broadest Possible Majority / Diplomatic Tactics
Iranian President' Speech at the UN / EU-3 Negotiations /
Enrichment on Iranian Soil / Bushehr Reactor Deal / Partnering
with other Countries
Foreign Ministers Straw, Douste-Blazy and Fischer Editorial /
Getting Back the Negotiation Table
DEPARTMENT
Hurricane Rita / State Department Offices in Houston / Offices
Closed / Recommendations by State and Local Authorities / In Touch
with Governments that have Missions in the Area / Encourage
Foreign Nationals to be in Touch with Missions
TRANSCRIPT:
12:35 p.m. EDT
MR. MCCORMACK: Good afternoon. Don't have any opening statements, so I'll get right into questions. I'm sure there are
a few.
QUESTION: Ambassador Hill has expressed an interest in taking a look at North Korea, I believe. In any event, the South
Koreans are saying that they've conveyed to the North Koreans his interest in visiting. Is he planning to go there or
are you looking at dates for him to go there?
MR. MCCORMACK: I just -- I talked to Assistant Secretary Hill before I came down here and the only travel plans that he
has right now are to return to Beijing for the next round of six-party talks.
QUESTION: So do you want to (inaudible) but do you want to rule out any trip in the next few weeks or do you want to
just say, he has no plans, which usually means it could be announced tomorrow.
MR. MCCORMACK: I think what I'll say, Barry, is that right now the only travel plans he has are to return to Beijing
for the next round of six-party talks which are now scheduled for November.
Okay.
QUESTION: Yeah.
MR. MCCORMACK: Next? Jim.
QUESTION: How are you, sir?
MR. MCCORMACK: Good.
QUESTION: On Iran and the IAEA, what are we to make of the fact that the EU circulated a second draft resolution?
Should that be interpreted as an instance of what the President likes to call negotiating with ourselves?
MR. MCCORMACK: No. I think that there are a lot of diplomatic discussions going on at the International Atomic Energy
Agency -- the IAEA right now concerning Iran and its noncompliance with its international obligations. Our views are
clear. We certainly are in support of the EU-3 in its decision that it's time to report Iran to the UN Security Council
for its long history of noncompliance with its international obligations -- the latest of which was breaking its accord
with the EU-3, the Paris agreement. So there's a lot of diplomatic activity that's going on right now. We have said
previously that if you had a vote today, there is a majority to report Iran to the Security Council and we think that
reporting Iran to the Security Council is long overdue.
That said, we are working with other members of the IAEA Board of Governors right now on the timing of such a move, as
well as the language of a resolution that could be voted on in the Board of Governors. As Secretary Rice has said, if
Iran -- we have no doubt that if Iran continues on the path that it has chosen to follow for these past years, pursuing
nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program that they would be reported and should be reported to the
Security Council.
As for the timing of such a referral, that is going to be a matter for diplomacy and that's what is working now. So I
think what you're seeing is that the diplomatic, the -- any changes in language in terms of draft resolutions are
tracking with the discussions that are ongoing now in the IAEA.
QUESTION: So was the change in language offered in consultation with the U.S.? You said that we have been working on
language with them. Was this something that we worked on, this change in language?
MR. MCCORMACK: Right. Well, I'm not going to get into any specific language at this point. I don't know of any drafts
that may be circulating around the IAEA, but we are working very closely with the EU-3, as well as other members of the
IAEA Board of Governors on this matter.
QUESTION: I guess what I want to ask is you don't disapprove of the fact that a new resolution has been offered?
MR. MCCORMACK: I think that we're -- again, we are working -- all working on draft language at the Board of Governors.
We're working very closely with our colleagues of the EU-3. We have for, you know, the past months and past time been
working very closely with the EU-3 in their negotiations with Iran and we are continuing to do so in Vienna right now.
QUESTION: I was wondering if you can you follow up on that? Russia today made a statement against going to the Security
Council. I was wondering if you could react to that, please?
MCCORMACK: Well, again, Russia is part of this discussion in Vienna. Secretary Rice has had discussions with Foreign
Minister Lavrov, other Foreign Ministers, including those from the EU-3, Foreign Minister Douste-Blazy, Foreign
Secretary Straw, I know, have had conversations with Foreign Minster Lavrov and those conversations are also happening
at different levels of the government.
Russia shares the same concerns that all of us do. I think that they have stated previously they don't want to see Iran
obtain nuclear weapons. They don't want Iran to have access to sensitive nuclear fuel cycle technologies and know-how,
like enrichment and reprocessing. That's why that's part of the fuel take-back provisions of the Bushehr deal, to get to
that very matter. There's a reason why those are there. They don't think Iran should have access to the enrichment
technologies. And as for the matter of timing of referral to the Security Council and the specific language that would
be included in the IAEA Board of Governors resolution, that's something that we're working on them with.
So I think that in terms of the tactical, you know, there's a lot of diplomacy that's going on now, including with the
Russians. But in terms of the strategic objectives I think everybody is on the same page and everybody shares the same
strategic objectives.
QUESTION: But do you seriously think you can go to the Security Council without Russia and China on board?
MCCORMACK: Again, in terms of the timing and of referral to the Security Council, we think it's over due. We also think
that the timing of any such referral is a matter for diplomacy, which is what you're seeing right now ongoing in Vienna.
Sue.
QUESTION: Are you disappointed though that so far Russia doesn't seem to be going to your side in terms of pushing for
a referral? Does this mean your diplomacy is sort of failing with Russia in terms of the pressure that you've been
putting on them? While overall they agree with the principles, they're not supporting you in what you want.
MCCORMACK: Well, I think that -- just to back up a little bit -- in terms of the Board of Governors, you are seeing a
broadening majority. As I said before, if there were a vote, if there were a vote today for referral to the Security
Council, we believe that there is a majority for such a vote. But what we want to do -- working with the EU-3 and other
countries -- is to build the broadest possible majority, so that's part of our discussion with the Russians as well as
others. And this falls into the realm of diplomatic tactics. I think there are a lot of discussions that are ongoing.
But I'd go back to the important point that I think that everybody shares the same strategic objective and that is that
Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. We all agree that that would be a destabilizing event for the
region and for the world.
So again, we're working in Vienna. We have very clearly stated our views. We are working in support of the EU-3 and
their efforts. We're working to bring as many on board to our point of view. That has been an evolving process and I
expect that we're going to continue to have discussions on that in the coming days and weeks.
QUESTION: But without Russia you don't really have the same -- it wouldn't have the same impact without Russia, would
it?
MCCORMACK: Well, again, let's see what resolution we have coming out of the Board of Governors in the coming days. But
whatever that resolution is, whatever language does come out, whatever actions result from the discussions that are
ongoing now, you have to be very clear that everybody does share the same goal. And what we're all talking about now is
what is the pathway to get to that goal.
Barry.
QUESTION: You made some reference to Russia putting curbs on use of materials in reactors.
MCCORMACK: Right.
QUESTION: Is there a view here whether Iran has, and what it has already, the capability to turn out nuclear weapons?
MCCORMACK: Well, there are -- these are assessments for our intelligence community, Barry, and there are public
statements on that. The CIA does an annual report of what they think the state of the various nuclear programs of those
countries who might be pursuing nuclear weapons in a covert manner are, so that's publicly available and I don't have it
here in front of me, so I'd refer you to that.
And one thing certainly is it is difficult to know and the type of -- with the type of regime there is in Iran, to know
exactly where they might be in terms of their state of development of nuclear weapons. But what we have seen is their
programs of hiding their activities at Isfahan and Natanz, as well as other locations, from IAEA and the rest of the
world are certainly cause of concern. The IAEA itself has said that there are unanswered questions about Iran's dealings
with the AQ Khan network. The AQ Khan network was involved in selling nuclear technology to different regimes for the
purpose of developing nuclear weapons. And there's a long list of unanswered questions, so this is real cause for
concern. We believe and our assessment is that they are pursuing nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear
program.
Yes.
QUESTION: Did the Secretary have a conversation with Prime Minister Lavrov after their bilateral meetings in New York?
MCCORMACK: There was, to my knowledge, the last time that they talked was around the Quartet meeting which I think was
on Tuesday and the focus of that discussion was on issues related to the Middle East and Israeli-Palestinian efforts to
resolve any differences they may have. I don't believe they, at that point, talked about Iran but they had multiple
discussions during the entire time we were up in New York on this issue as well as others.
QUESTION: And since then she has called him?
MCCORMACK: Not that I'm aware of.
Yeah, Peter.
QUESTION: Sean, just -- there was a lot of focus on the Iranian President's on the speech -- just on the fiery and
negative and the nuclear (inaudible), but there was at least one proposal there that had some substance in it, which is
it offered to do partnerships with foreign countries and foreign firms for their fuel cycle work there. Is this seen at
all as a positive or as a step forward?
MCCORMACK: Well, I think that, you know, people did focus on the rhetoric and the body language and the tone in his
speech. But in terms of the substance there was one thing that was very, very different from what the Iranians had been
talking about with the EU-3, and that was they were talking about not doing any enrichment on Iranian soil and that was
a cause for discussion. And that was factored into the deal that the EU-3 had on the table with the Iranians.
One of the -- I think, one of the more shocking and disturbing elements of the Iranian President's speech was his
insistence in, I think, two or three separate places throughout the speech on doing enrichment in Iran. And that, I
think, was a cause of concern for all the world, as we've just been talking about the Russians and their deal and the
way they structured the Bushehr reactor deal. It doesn't have that provision. As a matter of fact, that was negotiated
in specifically because the Russians had concerns that Iran not have access to reprocessing and technology and know-how
in Iran. So Russia would provide the fuel, it would be used in the reactor, then it would be returned to Russia after it
was done.
QUESTION: Yeah, I know, but the reason that I mention it is because you have used the Bushehr model as something that
is acceptable and may be just a way forward on this. And that one proposal, I know that they said they have an
inalienable right to fuel enrichment and that was disturbing.
MR. MCCORMACK: Right, right.
QUESTION: But on the other hand, they also said that they're willing to do partnerships with foreign companies and
foreign firms to do this sort of work there, which seem to be at least along the lines of maybe the Bushehr model. So I
was wondering if that was seen at all as a positive element.
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I think that first, what the Iranians have to do is get back to negotiations with the EU-3 --
something that we have been encouraging all along for them to do. The world wants to see a resolution to this issue.
That has been the focus of what we've been trying to do at the IAEA. And so before any consideration of any other ideas
that are out there, what Iran has to do is get back to the negotiating table with the EU-3, which they walked away from
unilaterally. I think Foreign Ministers Straw, Douste-Blazy and Fischer had a very interesting editorial in the Wall
Street Journal today in which they did talk. They talked very openly about what their offer was on the table and their
willingness once again to talk to the Iranians. So the first step is to get back to the negotiating table, which the
Iranians walked away from.
Yes.
QUESTION: When you say that the enrichment in Iraq, the fact that the Europeans didn't want that, was factored in the
proposal, does it mean the former government, the reformer government was agreed on that? It was something which was
agreed?
MR. MCCORMACK: No, they didn't. Well, obviously, they didn't accept the proposal. I can't speak to what the various
negotiating positions were for the former Iranian Government, as well as this Iranian Government. Although with this
Iranian Government, I think the President of Iran, we have to take his words at face value when he gets up in front of
the UN and outlines very clearly where he wanted to take Iran. I'll leave it to the Iranians and the EU-3 to describe
their negotiations and what their understandings were.
QUESTION: If they didn't accept the proposal, what is the difference between this government who says no and the other
one who said no?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I'm not saying that they said no to that proposal. They were in ongoing negotiations. This
government walked away from those negotiations.
Yes.
QUESTION: Are you trying to get a vote in the IAEA before this new group of countries joins the Board of Governors and
are you concerned that might delay the process if you don't get a vote before then?
MCCORMACK: What we're doing right now, again, let's wait to see what the diplomacy brings over the next couple of days.
Again, we're sort of into the diplomatic tactics of what the resolution says and what action the Board of Governors will
do vis-à-vis the Security Council. In terms of the timing of that, questions related to the Security Council, we'll see
what the coming days bring.
Charlie.
QUESTION: Well, I wasn't going to do it, at little premature, but since there's -- looking ahead to the current
hurricane that people are worrying about, when Katrina hit New Orleans there were passport agencies and other things,
foreign missions, there. Do you have any concerns? Is the State Department doing anything in Houston with consulates or
is there any concern going on preparation-wise now?
MCCORMACK: Well, we did a few things: One, the State Department does have some offices in that area. We have a passport
agency in Houston. There is a diplomatic security regional office in Houston, as well as an office of foreign missions
office there. I think the total government employees and contract employees is in the range of 150 people, so our folks
down there are taking the proper precautions. All those offices in question are closed today. We will certainly be
guided by the warnings and the actions from state and local authorities concerning the track of the hurricane and what
their recommendations are in terms of evacuation and securing facilities.
Our Office of Foreign Mission people are also in touch with various foreign governments that have consulates or
diplomatic missions in that area. I believe there are 20-plus -- 37 diplomatic missions in that area, so we're going to
be working closely with them in terms of what steps they may take and what steps those foreign missions might take to be
in touch with their foreign nationals that are in the affected area. And in the event that the hurricane does hit and
have some effect on those missions, how we can assist those foreign governments in securing their missions as well as
securing U.S. Government facilities.
QUESTION: Just a follow up, are there any specific guidelines for foreigners to register with the missions or to
report?
MCCORMACK: Well, we encourage, you know -- we would certainly encourage all foreign nationals to be in touch with their
diplomatic missions, whether that's in the local area or here in Washington, D.C. that would -- in the event of the
hurricane going through that area along the Texas coast that would assist us, I think, in our efforts to help foreign
missions locate their foreign nationals.
QUESTION: So there's been no evacuation of American or the contract people yet?
MCCORMACK: Well, again, they're going to be guided by the recommendations of the state and local officials.
QUESTION: Can you transfer the work someplace else?
MCCORMACK: I think what our people here in Consular Affairs as well as in Diplomatic Security are going to do are --
they're making contingency plans now in case those areas are affected by the hurricane.
Yeah, Sue.
QUESTION: Did you account for everyone after Hurricane Katrina who worked in your offices? Were there any fatalities
among State Department officials?
MCCORMACK: I'll have to check. I'll check on that.
Yes, Libby.
QUESTION: Have any foreign countries offered any sort of aid to, you know, pre-Hurricane Rita hitting?
MCCORMACK: You know, I haven't done a check on that, so -- preemptive offers --
QUESTION: Preemptive offers, yeah.
MCCORMACK: -- of assistance.
Thank you.
(The briefing was concluded at 1:52 p.m.)
DPB#163
ENDS