The president at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh:
It is time for Iran to act immediately to restore the confidence of the international community by fulfilling its international obligations. We remain committed to serious, meaningful engagement with Iran to address the nuclear issue through the P5-plus-1 negotiations. Through this dialogue, we are committed to demonstrating that international law is not an empty promise; that obligations must be kept; and that treaties will be enforced. And that’s why there’s a sense of urgency about the upcoming meeting on October 1st…At that meeting, Iran must be prepared to cooperate fully and comprehensively with the IAEA to take concrete steps to create confidence and transparency in its nuclear program and to demonstrate that it is committed to establishing its peaceful intentions through meaningful dialogue and concrete actions.
It would seem that the president expects — and will demand — some evidence that the Iranians are negotiating in good faith at today’s meeting in Geneva. There is very little wiggle room in that statement, and in any case Obama went on to say that “the Iranian government must now demonstrate through deeds its peaceful intentions or be held accountable to international standards and international law.” But the State Department is taking a very different line. A yesterday’s briefing, State Department spokesman PJ Crowley told reporters that the administration isn’t really expecting anything in particular from Iran at today’s meeting:
“I wouldn’t expect a call for sanctions tomorrow night at the end of this meeting. I think we’re looking for a process. “As the secretary and the president have said, we’re going to give this some time. We would hope that this meeting will be followed by other meetings. We would hope that at this particular time Iran will indicate, starting tomorrow, that it’s willing to, you know, take practical steps and that will produce measurable results to address the concerns that we will lay on the table tomorrow.”
Which is it? Are we going to “give this some time”? Or must Iranian negotiators demonstrate today that they are “prepared to cooperate fully and comprehensively,” per President Obama’s demands. The administration is sending mixed messages and muddying the waters at a time when what is most crucial is that the Iranians understand clearly what our red lines are — and yet no one in Washington, let alone Tehran, understands what the administration’s red lines are.
