Iran Defiant In Face Of United U.S., EU Approach
Iran defiant in face of united U.S., EU approach
Tehran says neither incentives nor threats will stop nuclear program
Updated: 7:10 a.m. ET March 12, 2005
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran defiantly insisted on Saturday it would never give up its nuclear fuel program despite a new united policy of incentives and threats from Washington and the European Union.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to use peaceful nuclear technology and no pressure, intimidation or threat can make Iran give up its right,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said.
Tehran says its nuclear facilities will only be used to generate electricity and never diverted to weapons production.
The EU and Washington, which suspect Iran could use its nuclear power program to make atomic bombs, unveiled a coordinated carrot and stick approach on Friday aimed at pressuring Tehran to give up sensitive activities like uranium enrichment which can be used to make bomb-grade fuel.
Iran has frozen enrichment while it tries to reach a negotiated settlement about its nuclear program with the EU big three Britain, Germany and France.
While the EU trio said they would back U.S. demands to send Iran’s case to the U.N. Security Council if it resumed enrichment, Washington, in a policy shift, offered practical backing for the EU’s diplomatic approach.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington would allow Iran to begin talks on joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) and would consider letting it buy civilian airline parts if it ceased all activities that could produce fuel for nuclear power plants or atomic weapons.
WTO membership and aircraft spares are key incentives which the EU hopes will persuade Iran to scrap enrichment plans. The EU was unable to deliver these inducements without U.S. support.
Iran: Incentives meaningless
Iran dismissed the incentives as meaningless. Asefi said U.S. restrictions on the sale of aircraft spares to Iran should never have been imposed.
“Lifting them is no concession and entering the WTO is a clear right of all countries,” he said.
“Correcting some (previous) errors and lifting some restrictions imposed on Iran without reason will not stop Iran from acquiring its legitimate rights.”
Iran says it can offer the world “objective guarantees” that it will not make atom bombs. These would include measures such as allowing intrusive U.N. inspections of its nuclear sites.
“The problem is that the Europeans should give up their illogical stance,” Sirus Naseri, a senior member of Iran’s nuclear negotiating team, told state television. “What we have said is that our fuel production will continue.”
But Washington and the EU say the only acceptable guarantee is for Iran to scrap its nuclear fuel production plans altogether and rely on the supply of reactor fuel from abroad.
Hassan Rohani, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, said a key Iran-EU meeting would be held in Paris on March 23.
“It will be a very important session and we hope to reach an acceptable conclusion through legal and diplomatic means,” the Jomhuri-ye Eslami newspaper quoted him as saying. “The continuation of the talks between Iran and Europe will depend on the March 23 meeting.”
Iran says progress in talks has been too slow and warns it may pull out and resume enrichment if the EU drags its feet.
But most diplomats and analysts believe the threat of a Security Council referral will be enough to keep Iran at the negotiating table for at least another three months
Technical talks are due to be held in Geneva next week ahead of the Paris meeting, diplomats said.
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