Al Jazeera English
Rice, who has previously accused ElBaradei of "muddying the message" to Iran, voiced strong irritation with the IAEA chief. "The IAEA is not in the business of diplomacy. The IAEA is a technical agency that has a board of governors of which the United States is a member."
Washington and its European allies argue that IAEA moves divert attention away from UN Security Council demands that Iran suspend uranium enrichment and grant broader inspections. "It is not up to anybody to diminish or to begin to cut back on the obligations that the Iranians have been ordered to take," Rice said.
The UN Security Council has passed two sanctions resolutions against Iran. The United States is pushing for a third, harsher round of measures, which China and Russia oppose, arguing that the IAEA should be given more time before either further sanctions or military action are considered.
ElBaradei has urged Western powers to be patient and has been critical of talk of future military action by the United States and others against Tehran, telling nations opposed to his efforts to learn from the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
While Sec'y is technically correct, the IAEA is not a diplomatic mission, the Bush administration has a proven track record of ignoring, even covering up the truth in order to push it's agenda. That has included character assassination of El Baradei in hopes of circumvention of his technical role, and avoiding diplomatic options, such as meeting face to face with the Iranians.
Someone has to be the diplomat in this situation, especially if Bush continues to sabotage diplomacy.
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