Press conference with the Foreign Secretary and Hilary Clinton (13/10/2009)
Jill Dougherty (CNN): Thank you, thank you very much. This question would be to both Secretaries if you would. Secretary Miliband you mentioned the covert facility at Qom and in light of this annexe to the IAEA report do you, what is the possibility that that enrichment facility at Qom might be just one of a series of secret uranium enrichment facilities in Iran?
And then just another quick question about these democracy protestors whom Iran says they’re going to execute. How do you keep faith with democracy supporters while at the same time engaging with Iran to get what you want which is the end to their nuclear programme?
DM: I think that Iran’s history of covert secret programmes before 2003 where there is their dispute with the IAEA and more recently in respect of the Qom facility explains why the international community does not have confidence in the Iranian regime’s protestations about the purely peaceful aspects or purely peaceful purposes of their nuclear programme. I think the IAEA’s role in this is particularly important and I think it’s very important that we support them and I think both of our countries are pledged not just to support the IAEA, but actually build up the IAEA as an organisation that can do that.
By definition we don’t provide a running commentary on covert sites in Iran or in anywhere else, but I think that the revelations in respect of the Qom facility are very significant indeed. Secretary Clinton referred to the unity of the international Coalition and I think it is very important to use platforms like this to say that the P5 +1, the United States, Russia, China plus the three European countries, are joined as one in our determination to engage with Iran, but also to engage on very clear principles and Iran can be treated as a normal country in respect of nuclear matters when it starts behaving as a normal country.
And that really links to the second question, which is that we just have to stick to our principles. And our principles in respect of human rights are very clear. Our insistence that it is not for us to choose the Government of Iran is clear, but also our insistence that it’s right to stand up for human, for human rights around the world, for universal values is also very clear and I think that that message to the Iranian Government as well as to the Iranian people that it’s their rights that need to be sacrosanct is absolutely right and is the right way in which we show our commitments and our engagement.
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