Rice: No Evidence Iran to Back Down In Nuclear Standoff

Dow Jones Newswires:

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday there is no evidence that Iran intends to back down in a diplomatic standoff over its disputed nuclear program, but hedged her bets on when the United States might seek punishment at the U.N.

In an Associated Press interview, Rice said "everybody continues to hope" that the country's new hardline leadership will resume negotiations in Europe over giving up a suspected weapons program. "I haven't seen any evidence that Iran is interested in a deal that is going to be acceptable to an international community that is extremely skeptical of what the Iranians are up to," Rice said.

She predicted the United States would have enough votes at the U.N. Security Council to impose international sanctions against Iran but hinted she was waiting for other nations to join such an effort. READ MORE

"We also recognize that it is important for others to also come to the conclusion that we've exhausted the diplomatic possibilities," Rice said.