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"We have been clear that the United States is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and we have also been clear that we believe there is still time to resolve this issue diplomatically," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters here yesterday.
In the statement, Carney said that if Iran fails to address the concerns of the international community, it will face more pressure and become increasingly isolated.
"We hope that the Iranian regime will make the strategic decision to come to the February 26 talks with the P-5-plus-1 in Kazakhstan prepared to discuss substance so there can be progress in addressing the international community's concerns about the nature of the Iranian nuclear program," he added.
"The burden of sanctions could be eased, but the onus is on Iran to turn its stated readiness to negotiate into tangible action," Carney said in response to a question.
Refusing to go into details of what the P5-plus-one will present to Iran in the talks, the US official said the US is ready to have a serious and substantive discussion.
"Let's allow the negotiators to do their work. We simply call on the Iranians to arrive at those talks with the intention of having them be substantive and focused on the issues that are of concern here to the international community," Carney said.
When asked about reports of Iran rolling out new atomic technologies, he said it's hardly a surprise that the actions taken by Iran is a continuation of their refusal to abide by their international obligations.
