Rice: asking Iran to 'unlearn' its nuclear capability is nonstarter

Washington - US National Security Adviser Susan Rice urges a pro-Israeli lobbying group to drop any insistence that Iran entirely forego domestic nuclear capacity.

"That is not a viable negotiating position nor is it attainable," Rice said at the America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Washington. "No one can make Iran unlearn the science and nuclear capabilities it already possesses."

Rice also warns against the notion of imposing sanctions on Iran and walking away. Sanctions alone never have stopped Iran from advancing its nuclear programme, she says.