Straw: US committed to diplomacy on Iran
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has played down rumours of differences between the UK and the US over Iran, and said America is committed to diplomacy.
Mr Straw was speaking after his first meeting with Condoleezza Rice, the incoming US secretary of state, in Washington.
The meeting with Colin Powell’s successor came amid apparent foreign policy differences between Britain and the US over Iran and China.
Britain and its European partners are pushing for a diplomatic solution to growing speculation that Tehran is building nuclear weapons and is pushing for the relaxation of arms exports sanctions to China.
The US wants to adopt a tougher line on Iran – dubbed an “axis of evil” state by President George Bush – and to maintain the status quo on arms exports to communist state China.
In his inaugural speech for his second term of office, Mr Bush said it was America’s global mission to spread democracy to “the darkest corners of the world”.
Last week, vice-president Dick Cheney said Iran was “right at the top of the list” of world troublespots and refused to rule out the use of force. Britain, by contrast, has said that military action is not on its agenda.
But speaking after the talks, Mr Straw said military strikes were not mooted during the discussions.
He said Britain and the US were essentially in the same place with respect to “this strategic issue” as both embraced the “very eloquent central tenets of the UN charter – democracy”.
“We have got to work through it,” he said.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said Mr Straw was not travelling to Washington to outline Britain’s stance on the Islamic republic but admitted talks would centre on the Middle East, including Israel and Palestine, Iraqi elections and Britain’s presidency of the G8.
On China, Mr Straw told Ms Rice that Britain wanted a “more effective arms control regime” with more transparency.
