FinancialAdvisor's College Class (FACC)

[FinancialAdvisor]

Iran sees "genuine" EU effort to reach nuke deal

Iran sees "genuine" EU effort to reach nuke deal
21 Apr 2005 15:44:57 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Louis Charbonneau

VIENNA, April 21 (Reuters) - The European Union's three biggest powers appear to genuinely want an agreement with Iran, which is determined to become a producer of enriched nuclear fuel, a senior Iranian official said on Thursday. Sharing Washington's suspicions that Tehran is developing the capability to make atomic weapons, France, Britain and Germany have offered Iran economic and political incentives if it permanently abandons its uranium enrichment programme, which could produce nuclear fuel for power plants and bombs.

Iran denies wanting weapons and insists its nuclear ambitions are limited to the peaceful generation of electricity.

Iran has accused the Europeans of dragging their feet in the talks and some European diplomats have admitted privately this was a strategy on their part to keep Tehran talking.

But Sirus Naseri, who led Iran's delegation at this week's EU-Iran talks in Geneva, told Reuters: "The general trend of the negotiations (with the EU) right now indicates there is a willingness to make a genuine effort to come to an agreeable solution, a solution that both sides can live with."

European diplomats have said their governments are determined to reach a deal with Iran to demonstrate that the EU can wield diplomatic clout on a key global security problem.

EU diplomats say their official position in the negotiations is that Iran must dismantle its uranium enrichment programme, but are considering Iran's proposal for a small-scale enrichment plant at Natanz in central Iran.

They said there were no breakthroughs at the EU-Iran nuclear working group talks on Tuesday and Wednesday though both sides agreed to continue meeting. The next round will be held at a more senior level in London on April 29.

IRAN WON'T GIVE UP ENRICHMENT

Naseri said termination of its enrichment programme, which it has temporarily frozen for the duration of talks with the EU, was not an option.

"The whole notion of cessation is so absurd that I simply do not wish to comment about it. It's outrageous," he said.

Iran has proposed starting out with a small-scale pilot enrichment plant of some 3,000 centrifuges, machines that purify uranium by spinning at supersonic speeds, EU diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

This would be followed by the creation of a commercial-scale enrichment facility at Natanz that would be outfitted with over 50,000 centrifuges, the diplomats said.

The EU trio unanimously reject the idea of Iran running a commercial scale plant, but EU diplomats said some French politicians appeared to be open to the idea of the pilot plant.

The 3,000-centrifuge pilot plant could theoretically produce enough highly enriched uranium for one and a half bombs per year. But Iran says it intends to produce only low-grade enriched fuel for use at its Russian-built Bushehr nuclear reactor.

Naseri echoed a threat made on Wednesday by Hassan Rohani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, that Tehran will remain in talks with the Europeans as long it appeared they were heading towards an agreement acceptable to the Iranian delegation.

"If at any moment we feel that this is no longer on the horizon, there will be no reason to go on with the process," he said.

Washington has backed the EU initiative by offering its own modest incentives. However, they are conditioned on Iran permanently giving up its uranium enrichment programme.


LINK: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L21646265.htm