Iran pleads for time in nuclear talks

BRUSSELS - Iran today rejected Western pressure for an immediate response to an international offer of incentives to suspend uranium enrichment, telling the European Union the proposal lacked proper legal guarantees.

A meeting between chief Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana ended with no sign of progress, although they agreed to keep in touch after Solana reports to major power foreign ministers in Paris tomorrow.

Rebuffing calls for a quick answer to the offer of economic, technological and political sweeteners, Larijani told a news conference: "We must be patient and try to negotiate ... We must allow more time for negotiations to work."

While the Brussels talks were under way, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad breathed defiance back home, saying his country would defend its right to produce nuclear fuel.

"The Iranian nation will not retreat one iota on its way to realising all of its rights, including complete nuclear rights and employing the capacities to produce nuclear fuel," student news agency ISNA quoted him as saying in northwest Iran.

The United States, which accuses Tehran of secretly working to build nuclear weapons, had demanded a clear Iranian response before next weekend's summit of Group of Eight industrialised nations in Russia or face possible UN Security Council action.

But asked if Iran even intended to stick to its own target date of August 22 for a response, Larijari said merely that the timing depended on domestic committees assessing the offer.

"As soon as we get the results of this work, we shall share them with our friends. We are determined to reach a result as soon as possible."

Larijani responded to Western talk of sanctions if Iran played for time with a veiled warning of consequences for European energy supplies.

"Energy security for Europe is not a small thing, so we have to take into account all the dimensions," he said.

A senior Iranian nuclear official said differences persisted and Solana had been unable to answer all Larijani's questions.

"One of the main problems of this proposal is that there is no clear legal guarantees," he told Iranian reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"For example, they offer us a reactor, but it's not clear which country is giving it, which company, and can the government oblige those companies to give Iran those reactors if pressured by the United States," the official added.

The official said Larijani had reiterated Iran's insistence that it continue to enrich uranium but did not rule out further meetings, saying the offer could be a "basis for talks".

Senior officials from Britain, France, Germany and Russia participated in the talks alongside Solana.

A British official in London said: "Today the Iranians did not indicate any flexibility, in particular on the suspension issue. Everybody who attended the meeting was disappointed."

A spokeswoman for Solana declined to comment on the content of talks but told reporters: "We want them to respond as clearly as possible, as quickly as possible."

Diplomats say Russia and China, both veto-holders in the UN Security Council, are wary about imposing sanctions on Tehran and so acknowledge there is little pressure on Iran to give an early reply to the offer presented by Solana on June 6.

Separately, some Western diplomats accredited to the UN nuclear watchdog agency in Vienna said technical glitches appeared to have slowed down Iran's nuclear fuel-enrichment programme and put on hold plans to expand it.

"We have been told of problems from people in a position to know. It's a slowdown in the process although we haven't been able to quantify it yet," said one diplomat, who like others asked for anonymity due to the topic's political sensitivity.

Outside the Brussels talks, some 60 supporters of the exiled Iranian opposition waved banners urging "UN sanctions to stop the game of the mullahs", insisting Tehran was not interested in solving the dispute and was merely playing for time.

The package includes a state-of-the-art nuclear reactor with a guaranteed fuel supply, economic benefits and other incentives if Iran halts uranium enrichment.

Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, rejects charges it seeks a nuclear weapon and argues it is solely interested in electricity generation.

- REUTERS