 SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS/AP) -- The California congresswoman who was booed by congressional Republicans for using her swearing in speech as an opportunity to blast President Bush and the war in Iraq is now endorsing a resolution that would emphasize tougher sanctions on Iran to ends its nuclear program.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier said that a nuclear Iran would represent a grave threat to the United States, but also said that war is not an option.
“I think diplomacy is the way we are going to solve this issue with Iran,” said Speier.
Last week, officials from six different countries sat down with Iran to negotiate its nuclear program, which quickly dissolved by Saturday with Iran stonewalling on their call to freeze uranium enrichment.
In response, the six gave Iran two weeks to respond to their demand, setting the stage for a new round of U.N. sanctions.
Officials and diplomats refused to characterize the timeframe as an ultimatum, but it appeared clear that Iran now has a de-facto deadline to show flexibility.
EU envoy Javier Solana said that Iran still has to answer a request made on behalf of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany to "refrain from any new nuclear activity."
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KCBS' Margie Shafer reports
