Ahmadinejad’s remarks, which came during a meeting with visiting Turkish Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin on Tuesday, were reported on the Iranian state television website.
“The Tehran declaration is still alive and can play a role in international relations even if the arrogant [Western] powers are upset and angry,” Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying during the meeting with Şahin. Within hours of the release of the report, US National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said diplomacy remains an option in the standoff with Iran, while insisting that Tehran “needs to take concrete steps to meet its international obligations if it does not want to be further isolated.” “As we have said all along, diplomacy remains an option as we move forward with sanctions,” Hammer said, adding that the United States, Russia and France had already given their response to Iran’s nuclear swap proposal last week.
“It outlined in detail both our technical concerns on the Iranian proposal as well as our long-standing broader concerns on Iran’s nuclear program,” he said in a statement. “If Iran indicates that it is prepared to address those concerns constructively, we will be in a position to decide on next steps for reaching agreement and effectively addressing the international community’s concerns.”
