Obama Sets Deadline For Iranian Plant Inspection

Iran must grant international inspectors access to its newly disclosed nuclear enrichment facility within two weeks, President Obama said Thursday after Iran pledged to allow inspections soon.

"Talk is no substitute for action," Obama said at the White House after talks ended earlier in the day in Switzerland. "Our patience is not unlimited."

The president's statement came a few hours after a senior European envoy said Iran had pledged to open the plant to inspectors, possibly within a few weeks.

Javier Solana, the EU's top foreign policy official, also confirmed that Iran and six world powers, including the United States, will hold a new set of talks this month on international concerns about Tehran's nuclear program and other issues raised by the Islamic republic. He made the comments at a meeting near Geneva of officials from the seven nations.

In another development at Thursday's Geneva meeting, the U.S. and Iran sat down for bilateral talks during a break, a significant departure from past U.S. policy of not negotiating with Tehran.

U.S. spokesman Robert Wood says U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns met with Saeed Jalili, Tehran's chief negotiator.

Western diplomats said the two discussed issues during a lunch break at Thursday's talks. Wood, and two Western diplomats who demanded anonymity for discussing the confidential information, declined to elaborate to The Associated Press.

It is the first known direct high-level meeting between Washington and Tehran in years of attempts to persuade Iran to freeze its uranium enrichment program. Iran says the program is peaceful, but some Western nations fear it could eventually produce nuclear weapons.

Obama said Thursday that Iran must follow through on its promises of transparency in its nuclear program. He said Iran also must take concrete steps to show that the program is for peaceful purposes and not an effort to pursue nuclear weapons.

The president said the United States is prepared to move toward bringing more pressure on Iran if it does not carry out its international obligations.

Diplomats from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia — plus Germany met Thursday with Iran's top nuclear negotiator.

Before the meeting, a senior U.S. official in Geneva called the talks the beginning of an "extraordinarily difficult process."

Tensions over Iran's nuclear program rose higher last week with the revelation that Iran has been secretly building an underground plant to enrich uranium. President Obama called that facility "a direct challenge" to the nuclear nonproliferation system and said it shows that Iran is on "a path that is going to lead to confrontation."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed that charge as "baseless," repeating his government's assertions that Iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

On Wednesday, Ahmadinejad said that Tehran viewed the talks as a test of the major powers' willingness to respect Iran's rights. Iranian officials have said the talks should include a wide range of issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian question and changes in the structure of the U.N. that would distribute power among more countries.

VOC

diplomat ['diplәmæt] : n.  外交官 
1 (also old-fashioned diplomatist) a person whose job is to represent his or her country in a foreign country, for example, in an EMBASSY

2  a person who is skilled at dealing with other people:
You'll need to be a real diplomat to persuade them to come to some agreement.

embassy ['embәsi] : n. 大使及其隨員, 大使的派遣, 大使館

1  a group of officials led by an AMBASSADOR who represent their government in a foreign country:
the American embassy in London * embassy officials * to inform the embassy of the situation
  2  the building in which an embassy works:
a demonstration outside the Russian Embassy
ambassador [æm'bæsәdә] : n. 大使
an official who lives in a foreign country as the senior representative there of his or her own country:
the British Ambassador to Italy / in Rome * a former ambassador to the UN * (figurative) The best ambassadors for the sport are the players.
    ambassadorial  adjective
pursue [pә'sju:] : vt. 追趕, 追蹤, 追擊, 繼續, 從事
1.We intend to pursue this policy with determination. * She wishes to pursue a medical career.
2. to continue to discuss, find out about or be involved in sth:
[VN] to pursue legal action * We have decided not to pursue the matter. [also V speech]
3. [VN] to follow or chase sb/sth, especially in order to catch them:
She left the theatre, hotly pursued by the press. * Police pursued the car at high speed. * Jake has been pursuing her (= trying to have a relationship with her) for months.
carry out : v. 完成, 實現, 貫徹, 執行
Let's get a carry-out. * carry-out coffees
obligation [ˏɔbli'geiʃәn] : n. 義務, 職責, 債務
assertion [ә'sә:ʃәn] : n. 主張, 斷言, 聲明
He was correct in his assertion that the minister had been lying. * Do you have any evidence to support your assertions?
baseless ['beislis] : adj. 無根據的
(formal) not supported by good reasons or facts:
The rumours were completely baseless.
non-proliferation [non prәuˏlifә'reiʃәn] : n. 不擴散, 防止擴散
A limit to the increase in the number of nuclear and chemical weapons that are produced:
a nuclear non-proliferation agreement / treaty * The government seeks to promote non-proliferation and disarmament.
reveal [ri'vi:l] : vt. 展現, 顯示, 揭示, 暴露
revelation [ˏrevi'leiʃәn] : n. 顯示, 揭露, 被揭露的事, 新發現, 啟示, 揭示
He was dismissed after revelations that confidential files were missing.
The company's financial problems followed the revelation of a major fraud scandal.
These events were seen as a divine revelation.
elaborate [i'læbәrәt] : adj. 精心製作的, 詳細闡述的, 精細 vt. 精心製作, 詳細闡述
She had prepared a very elaborate meal. * an elaborate computer system
elaborately adverb:
an elaborately decorated room
verb 
  1  ~ (on / upon sth) to explain or describe sth in a more detailed way:
[V] He said he was resigning but did not elaborate on his reasons. * [VN] She went on to elaborate her argument. [also V speech]
  2  [VN] to develop a plan, an idea, etc. and make it complicated or detailed:
In his plays he takes simple traditional tales and elaborates them.
    elaboration  noun [U, C]:
the elaboration of an idea / a theory * The importance of the plan needs no further elaboration.
anonymity [ˏænә'nimiti] : n. 匿名, 作者不明(或不詳)
undersecretary ['ʌndә'sekritәri] : n. 次長, 副部長
bilateral [bai'lætәrәl] : adj. 有兩面的, 雙邊的
adjective
  1  involving two groups of people or two countries:
bilateral relations / agreements / trade / talks
  2  (medical) involving both of two parts or sides of the body or brain:
bilateral hearing impairment
    bilaterally adverb 
compare MULTILATERAL, UNILATERAL
Islamic [iz'læmik] : adj. 伊斯蘭的, 伊斯蘭教的
uranium [juә'reiniәm] : n. 鈾
noun
[U] (Symbol U) a chemical element. Uranium is a heavy, silver-white, RADIOACTIVE metal, used mainly in producing nuclear energy.
pledge [pledʒ] : n. 保證, 誓言, 抵押, 抵押品 vt. 保證, 使發誓, 抵押, 典當