Questioned about the international response after Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel should be “wiped off the map” and that the Holocaust was a “myth”, Rice told the Fox News channel that she expected Iran’s nuclear programme to be referred to the UN Security Council but would not set a deadline for action.
“The more we hear from this Iranian government, the more that people recognize and acknowledge publicly that this is a government that shouldn’t expect the international community to trust them with technologies that might lead to a nuclear weapon,” she said.
Questioned about the prospect of international sanctions, Rice told the Fox News channel: “I’m convinced that this will end up in the Security Council if Iran doesn’t change course, and I see no evidence that Iran will change course.”
The US administration has been saying for several months that it wants action before the United Nations, while supporting efforts by Britain, France and Germany to negotiate with Iran over its plan to enrich uranium for what it insists is a peaceful nuclear programme.
“Diplomacy takes some time, and it is important that we do this at a time of our choosing,” Rice said.
Ahmadinejad, an ultra-conservative elected in June, has caused international outrage with a series of anti-Israeli remarks.
