The long awaited response from Iran to the incentive package offered by the West finally arrived earlier this week. And so far, officials are not entirely sure what to make of it. Nor are they sure what to do next.

The offer was extended by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (the US, the UK, China, Russia and France) in addition to Germany and held out the possibility of economic and other benefits in exchange for Iran's immediate cessation of uranium enrichment. The hope was that Iranian acceptance of the offer could pave the way for further negotiations regarding Tehran's nuclear program -- one that Iran says is purely peaceful in nature but that the West fears may be aimed at eventually producing nuclear weapons.

Iran's response, though, was "more obfuscation and delay," said one official, according to the Associated Press. Indeed, Iran reportedly asked for a "clear response" to the questions it has about the offer before it will provide a straightforward answer. "We see this as a stalling tactic," US State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos bluntly told reporters.

France echoed the US interpretation, saying it regretted Iran's decision "not to answer clearly," and Britain lamented that "Iran's leaders appear to have chosen isolation." German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier  called the Iranian response "insufficient."

On Wednesday, the Security Council nations along with the European Union and Germany agreed to pursue what is likely to be a long road to new penalties. Russia and China have both long been opposed to truly tough measures, but agreed to follow the sanction route during a conference call among the powers on Wednesday. The EU is expected to announce new sanctions within days in order to keep the pressure on Iran. "The path of dialogue remains open but, in the absence of a clear response, Iran is making the choice to expose itself to new sanctions," read a statement issued by the French Foreign Ministry, according to AP.

In Germany, the issue has been complicated by the recent announcement that the government had approved a German company's plans to supply Iran with three factories capable of liquifying natural gas, simplifying transport. Israel has strongly condemned the decision , claiming that it was "opposed to the spirit of the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council against Iran."

On Wednesday, however, the German government defended its decision, saying that it could not ban products if they didn't fall into the categories of goods banned from export. At the same time, Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Thomas Steg sent a message to German companies, saying "there is a kind of moral obligation to consider the sensitive conditions regarding business with Iran and to impose a certain self-restraint."

German commentators found little comfort either in Steg's words or the broader stalemate. Some want more sticks; others want more carrots. Few of them predict progress.

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"The group of six world powers … has a number of different motivations driving its decisions.... That confusion has so far blocked any effective sanctions from emerging. Nor, however, will there be any negotiations without preconditions, as Iran demands. The primary beneficiary from this standoff has been Iran, which continues playing for time even if that means a risk of an attack from the US or Israel. There is little doubt that Barack Obama's pledge that he would negotiate with Iran without conditions ... has entered Iran's political calculations. That's what Iran wants, and that's why it will wait for the outcome of elections in the US."

The left-leaning daily Die Tageszeitung writes:

"It is incomprehensible that the West continues this senseless game with Iran about nuclear issues. … This strategy of sticks and carrots only hurts the West's economy and pushes Iran even further into the arms of Russia and China. And it's also a dangerous game to be playing because it could lead to war. The consequences of such a war would be gruesome not only for Iran and the region, but also for Europe and the United States."

"What is there to do in such an explosive situation? We must negotiate with Iran -- with all seriousness and without preconditions. If doing so allows their uranium enrichment program to go forward for another few weeks or months, the result would not immediately be the emergence of a bomb. And if proposals are made that can help the regime save some face, we can isolate the radicals and warmongers and win over the majority of the conservatives. If Washington continues to say no to this strategy and Israel continues to threaten a military solution, then the Europeans need to take a strong position. They would have Russia and China on their side. It is doubtful, though, whether they can really get the nerve up to do it."

The Berlin daily Tagesspiegel writes:

"Without even a blush, Germany is doing business with the world champion of anti-Semitism and undermining international efforts aimed at imposing sanctions on Iran -- such is the tenor of the critique aimed at Berlin for the last week. The source of the criticism is the planned and supposedly 'harmless' delivery of three liquefied natural gas plants to Iran by the firm Steiner-Prematechnik Gastec (SPG)…"

"The case makes it clear that the government is disengaged and lacking in any sense of responsibility. And it has also become obvious that the current sanctions and export restrictions on Iran are completely insufficient…"