President Bush on Wednesday accused Iran of taking too long to consider a package of incentives aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Bush was responding to a statement by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said earlier Wednesday that he would not decide whether to accept the package until next month.
“We are studying the proposals,” Ahmadinejad said on Iranian state television. “Hopefully, we will present our views about the package by mid-August.”
That was called unacceptable by Bush.
“We just got word of this statement as we walked in here, but it shouldn’t take the Iranians that long to analyze what is a reasonable deal,” Bush said during a press conference in Vienna with European officials. “It seems like an awful long time.”
The package of incentives, which includes expanded trade opportunities and a light-water nuclear reactor, was offered on June 6. Bush made clear his patience is already beginning to wear thin.
“Weeks, not months,” he said. “And I believe that’s the view of our partners — weeks, not months.”
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, who appeared with Bush at the press conference, agreed that time is running out.
“As President Bush said, it’s better to agree as soon as possible; the time is limited, and I think we should not play with time,” he said.
“Now is the right moment for Iran to take this offer, to grab it and to negotiate,” he added. “So this is their cutoff. Take it. This is my advice.”
Iran has refused demands by the West to stop enriching uranium for possible use in nuclear weapons.
“It would be a terrible situation if they developed a weapon,” Bush said. “Europe and the United States and Russia and China are united in our common desire to make sure that Iranians do not develop a nuclear weapon.”
To that end, the president reiterated his offer of talks with Iran if it abandons its intransigence.
“You get to choose,” he said, referring to the Iranian regime. “We’ll come to the table to negotiate, so long as the Iranians verifiably end any enrichment activities.
“The Iranians have said that they will end Iranian enrichment activities before,” he added. “We’re just asking them to do what they already said they would do.”
