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Iran sees some positive signs in atomic proposal

Posted on: Tuesday, 6 June 2006, 11:44 CDT

By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Proposals on Tuesday by six world powers to end a dispute over Iran's nuclear fuel enrichment had positive points but also some "ambiguities" that must be removed, Tehran's chief negotiator said.

The proposals, which have not been made public but include incentives and penalties, seek to persuade Iran to give up enriching uranium, which the West fears will be used to build atomic bombs. Tehran says its nuclear aims are purely civilian.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana presented Iran's chief negotiator Ali Larijani with the package, agreed by the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.

"The proposals had some positive steps in them and some ambiguities which should be removed," Larijani said. He did not elaborate on the "ambiguities."

"We hope, after we study the proposal in detail, we will have another round of talks and negotiations to achieve a balanced and logical conclusion," he said.

The United States, Iran's arch foe which has been at the forefront of efforts to pressure the Islamic Republic to give up enrichment, said it was heartening Iran was taking the incentives package seriously.

But Washington reiterated the Iranian government needed to suspend nuclear enrichment activities before any direct talks.

Progress will depend on overcoming deep mutual mistrust.

Iran covered up sensitive nuclear fuel research and development work from the United Nations for almost 20 years until an Iranian exile group blew the whistle.

Tehran has impeded probes by the U.N. atomic energy agency since which have pointed to military links with nuclear work and possible secret activity, although no hard evidence of diversions into bombmaking has been found.

For its part, Washington, which broke ties with Tehran in 1980, says it wants a diplomatic solution but refuses to rule out military action.

HAGGLING ON INCENTIVES

"If the Iranians agree to suspend enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, then we'll be able to discuss more openly what the incentives are and we certainly hope that that's the case," White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters traveling with President George W. Bush.

So far, Iran has refused to give up uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to make fuel for nuclear power stations or, if enriched to a sufficiently high level, material for bombs. Iran says enrichment is a national right.

Iran's IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told Solana: "What is important in giving the incentives is supporting Iran's rights on research in (nuclear) technology. This issue should be very clear and without any ambiguity in the negotiations."

Iranian officials have hinted Tehran might negotiate over its plans for industrial-scale enrichment but have insisted on keeping research and development activities without specifying how many centrifuges to enrich uranium that would require.

The dispute has rattled oil markets, particularly after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran, hinted on Sunday that the world's fourth largest oil exporter could use oil as a weapon in the dispute if pushed.

Crude prices eased $1 after Larijani's comments but, at around $72 a barrel, are still close to record highs.

U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said on Tuesday the world could cope with a cutoff in Iranian oil exports "for a while."

In preparing the nuclear proposals, diplomats have been working on themes ranging from offering nuclear reactor technology to giving security guarantees.

"The proposal is on the table now. We hope to receive a positive response which is beneficial to both sides," Solana told a news conference in Tehran, shortly before flying to Germany after his one-night stop in Iran.

Diplomats in Washington said an arms embargo against Iran was among the possible penalties but said the incentives were kept secret to ensure Iran did not feel the need to publicly reject the offer before it had been discussed.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao agreed in a phone conversation on Tuesday that Iran should return to talks to resolve the dispute.

"The German chancellor and the premier underscored again the joint goal of finding a diplomatic solution to the nuclear problem," the German government said in a statement.

The package was put together to try to break a deadlock at the United Nations about how to deal with Iran. China and Russia had been reluctant to back a resolution they feared could have led to sanctions or possibly even military action.

French President Jacques Chirac, at a news conference with Merkel in Germany, said he hoped "the debate that has just begun ... to mean we can find an agreement that respects the demands of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) on Iran."

The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, sends inspectors to Iran for routine monitoring of atomic facilities, but since February Iran has blocked short-notice inspections.

(Additional reporting by Parinoosh Arami in Tehran and Noah Barkin in Berlin)

Source: REUTERS

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