White House, Obama camp squabble over Iran meeting

The White House on Wednesday adamantly denied Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama’s (Ill.) claim that the U.S. is negotiating with Iran by sending a high-level diplomat to a meeting with an Iranian official this weekend.

By sending Undersecretary of State Bill Burns to Geneva to meet with the Tehran emissary, the White House has “shifted course” from refusing to negotiate with the country, the Illinois senator said in a statement.

{mosads}Though White House press secretary Dana Perino declined to address Obama’s comments specifically, she told reporters repeatedly that there has been no change in policy and there will be no negotiations with Iran unless the country suspends its enrichment of uranium and that is verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"Our principle remains the same, and the strategy and the goal remain the same, that they must halt the enrichment of uranium in order for there to be negotiations," Perino said.

The purpose of the meeting is to give Iran the chance to respond to an incentives offer the U.S. has made in order to persuade Tehran to suspend its enrichment of uranium. News organizations were reporting Wednesday that the country has signaled no movement on that demand.

Perino insisted that Burns will be in Geneva as part of the international community because he will be joined by representatives of the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the U.S., China, Russia, France and Britain — and Germany.

Obama said this was a good first step toward pushing toward a diplomatic solution to halting Iran's nuclear program.

"Now that the United States is involved, it should stay involved with the full strength of our diplomacy," Obama said. "A united front with our friends and allies directly calling on the Iranians to stand down on their illicit nuclear program will maximize the international pressure we can bring to bear and will show the Iranian people that Iran's isolation is a function of its government's unwillingness to live up to its obligations. Iran should live up to its obligations now; by waiting, it will only face greater isolation."

Perino said sending Burns was a signal that the Bush administration is committed to a diplomatic solution, and she said high oil prices and last week's Iranian missile tests had nothing to do with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's decision to send Burns.