US Secretary of State John Kerry. Photo: ReutersUS Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday world powers would pursue further talks with Iran to resolve a decade-old dispute over its nuclear programme, but stressed that the process could not go on forever.
The six powers and Iran failed again to bridge wide differences at weekend talks in Kazakhstan, prolonging a stand-off that could yet erupt into a new Middle East war. No new talks were scheduled.
“This is not an interminable process,” Kerry said after arriving in Istanbul yesterday on the first leg of a 10-day trip to the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
He said US President Barack Obama was committed to continuing the diplomatic process despite what he called the complicating factor of an Iranian presidential election in June.
“Diplomacy is a painful task... and a task for the patient,” Kerry said.
Western powers suspect Iran is trying to develop the means to produce nuclear weapons under the guise of a declared civilian atomic energy programme. Iran denies the accusation.
At no stage will we put our fate in the hands of others, even our closest friends- Netanyahu
Israel urged the powers to set a deadline of weeks for military action to persuade Iran to halt its uranium enrichment activity. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, evoking Iran during a speech at a ceremony for Israel’s Holocaust remembrance day, hinted that Israel would act alone if necessary.
“What has changed since the Holocaust is our determination and our ability to defend ourselves,” he said. “We appreciate the international community’s efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear programme, but at no stage will we put our fate in the hands of others, even our closest friends.”
Tehran accuses Israel of threatening peace in the region and refuses to recognise the Jewish state, which is widely believed to harbour the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who represents the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany in talks with Iran, said the two sides had failed to resolve key differences during the two-day talks in Almaty.