WASHINGTON — The Bush administration said Wednesday that Iran's response to international efforts to restrain its nuclear program fell short of a U.N. Security Council demand that Tehran suspend its uranium enrichment activities by Aug. 31. But American officials declined to say whether that meant they would push for economic sanctions against Iran at the United Nations next week.
The administration's refusal to immediately call for sanctions marked a change in tone from signals sent by American officials before Iran issued a lengthy counteroffer Tuesday. Last week, senior U.S. diplomats had warned that anything short of a halt in Iran's enrichment program would lead to a quick American-led push for targeted sanctions at the United Nations.
The U.S. stance appeared even more muted than that taken Wednesday by France, whose foreign minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, told reporters in Paris that any return to the negotiating table would depend on Iran suspending its enrichment program. The Security Council is scheduled to meet next Thursday to officially consider Iran's response and decide whether the world body should move toward sanctions.
The Bush administration's reaction came in an announcement by the State Department, where a spokesman called the Iranian response "a serious offer" that warranted review. White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino said afterward that although Iran did not meet the key requirements on enrichment and reprocessing, the U.S. was continuing to discuss the document with the other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany, to decide whether to push for sanctions.
"I think that we need some time to review it and to discuss what the next steps are," Perino said. "All six of them are meeting, and we'll see what comes next."
Even as the administration sought to portray itself as soberly considering the Iranian response, the House Intelligence Committee issued a report Wednesday emphasizing the potential threat posed by Iran and reiterating U.S. intelligence estimates that Tehran could develop a nuclear weapon sometime in the next decade.
The report raised questions as to whether Iran would live up to any international agreement to suspend its nuclear program, and noted that the U.S. intelligence community might lack the resources and information to verify Tehran's behavior.
"American intelligence agencies do not know nearly enough about Iran's nuclear weapons program," the bipartisan report states.
