Iran Set to Offer New Nuclear Proposals
- From: "GWhyte" <gwhyte3003@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 06:43:27 -0400
Iran Set to Offer New Nuclear Proposals
Aug 24, 2:50 PM (ET)
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050824/D8C6C2QO0.html
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran will soon offer new proposals for negotiations with
Europe over its controversial nuclear program, the country's
ultraconservative president said Wednesday. The Bush administration
responded by saying the European diplomatic process "still has legs."
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he instructed the Supreme National
Security Council to draw up a new set of proposals over Iran's uranium
enrichment program.
"Iran will soon offer proposals about the cycle of nuclear fuel for peaceful
use of nuclear energy," he said on state-run television.
"We want to continue talks with all. We will continue dialogue," he said,
but he didn't elaborate if that included the United States. Iran has so far
said it doesn't see any role for the United States to play as long as it
continues to maintain its hostile approach toward Iran.
The comments by Ahmadinejad suggest he wants to launch a new process of
dialogue in the hope of persuading Europe to recognize Iran's right to
enrich uranium. Europe has been trying to persuade Iran in the talks to give
up its uranium enrichment program in return for economic incentives, a
proposal Iran has rejected.
Enrichment is one of the final stages in the nuclear fuel process. It can
produce either the fuel needed for a power reactor or material used in
creating a nuclear bomb. Iran says its program is entirely peaceful, aiming
only to produce electricity. The United States accuses Tehran of secretly
pursuing a weapons program.
Iran suspended enrichment activities and other parts of its nuclear program
as a gesture in negotiations last year. But earlier this month, Iran ended
the freeze on a preliminary part of the nuclear cycle, uranium reprocessing.
France's foreign minister said Wednesday that the European Union still
believes negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program are possible,
despite the EU's canceling an Aug. 31 meeting in response to the resumption
of reprocessing.
"We think it is still possible to talk to them," Philippe Douste-Blazy said
on France Inter radio. "We want to write a new page in relations between the
European Union and Iran."
In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the European
diplomatic process "still has legs."
"We would encourage the Iranian government to engage with the EU-3
negotiators in a serious and constructive way," McCormack said Wednesday.
"And we would encourage them to take an offer that is on the table. I think
that the EU-3 offer is comprehensive, it's constructive and it addresses the
issue."
Iran claimed victory Tuesday after the U.N. nuclear agency tests concluded
that traces of highly enriched uranium found on centrifuge parts at two
sites in Iran were from imported equipment - rather than any enrichment
activities by Iran.
The findings by the International Atomic Energy Agency support Iran's claims
that the material entered the country together with centrifuge parts
provided by Pakistan.
The discovery of the traces was touted by the United States as evidence Iran
was experimenting with producing highly enriched uranium, which is used only
in nuclear weapons.
.
- References:
- Iran the Model
- From: GWhyte
- Iran the Model
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