Arghhh!

Ever discuss painting a room with your roommate/partner/spouse and you say anything is fine except yellow and your R/P/S insists it has to be yellow? The discussion pretty much stops right there.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that Tehran will decide, on the basis of its national interests, on the proposals to be delivered by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana over Iran's nuclear issue, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.

"Iran is ready to hold fair and unconditional talks with the West on Iran's nuclear issue. Negotiations should not have preconditions," said the president.

Ahmadinejad underlined, "We will wait after they have put forth their proposals and after we have heard them, then, we will decide based on our national interests." [emphasis mine]

But then, a little later in the story, Ahmadinejad displays just how "unconditional" these talks will be from his side of it.

Meanwhile, the president stressed that Iran would reject any compromise on its absolute rights to uranium enrichment for peaceful purposes.

"We also regard the peaceful use of nuclear energy as our legitimate right and will not negotiate on our rights with anybody, " the president added.

Meanwhile Bushco is taking this position.

He made the final decision only after telephone calls with President Vladimir Putin of Russia and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, led him to conclude that if Tehran refused to suspend its enrichment of uranium, or later dragged its feet, they would support an escalating series of sanctions against Iran at the United Nations that could lead to a confrontation.

Even after Bush edited the statement Rice was scheduled to read Wednesday before she flew to Vienna to encourage Europe and Russia to sign on to a final package of incentives for Iran — and sanctions if it turns the offer down — Rice wanted to check in one more time.

She called Bush. Was he sure he was OK with his decision?

"Go do it," he responded.

She did, but the results remain unclear. Iran has given no indication it will agree to Bush's threshold condition, suspending nuclear fuel production. [emphasis mine]

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So Bushco is saying no yellow cake and Ahmadinejad is saying of course yellow cake.

Put away the paint brushes. This room stays the color it is.

Oh yeah, you catch that last part where Bush has gotten Europe and Russia to agree to sanctions? It still looks like Bushco is going through the motions diplomatically, but the end game remains an invasion.

Cross posted at Brilliant at Breakfast.