Transcript: Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns on 'FOX News Sunday'
Fox News Channel
July 9, 2006
WALLACE: Well, let's follow up on Iran. A number of countries — the E.U. and the U.S., China and Russia offered Iran a package of carrots and sticks on June 6th, and at that time your boss, the secretary of state, said that Iran had weeks, not months, to respond.
This Tuesday it will be five weeks, and Iran's top negotiator continues to reject any deadlines. Isn't Iran involved in a classic stall? And at some point isn't the west going to have to set a deadline?
BURNS: Oh, I think you're right that the Iranians are trying very hard now not to give us a clear and unambiguous answer. And they have a meeting on Tuesday with the Europeans. Secretary Rice is going to be in Paris to meet with the Europeans and the Russians and Chinese on Wednesday.
And the time has come for Iran to respond to the offer that was made on June 1st back in Vienna. And the Iranians need to understand that if they can't answer this question clearly, there is another path available to us, and that is to work in the Security Council to increase pressure and action against the Iranian government.
We offered them two paths, negotiations or Security Council action. The Iranians can choose, but the time to choose has come.
