Iran sees positive signs in nuclear proposals

The UN's Javier Solana (L) met Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. Picture / Reuters.

TEHRAN - Proposals 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 has 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 on Tuesday presented Iran's chief negotiator Ali Larijani with the package, agreed by the United States, Russia, China and the "EU3" - 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.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he expected Iran to decide on the package by the end of June, when foreign ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations are due to meet.

The United States, 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.

Tehran has impeded probes by the UN atomic energy agency 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.

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 underlined what he said was Iran's right to research nuclear technology to Solana. "This issue should be very clear and without any ambiguity in the negotiations," he said.

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.

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.

Iranian officials said the incentives included access to spare parts needed to renovate its ageing airliner fleet and the chance to purchase US agricultural technology.

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.

The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is expected to issue a new report on Iran's atomic fuel programme on Thursday.

- REUTERS