WORLD / Middle East
West likely to reject Iran's response
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-08-25 08:29
VIENNA, Austria - Germany said Thursday that Iran's response to a package
of incentives to halt its nuclear program was unsatisfactory because of
its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment, and diplomats suggested Tehran
now faces a greater risk of U.N. sanctions.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a speech in Berlin, August 22,
2006. Iran's response to an international package of incentives meant to
persuade it to give up uranium enrichment is not satisfactory, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a television interview on Thursday.
[Reuters]
Two senior diplomats who were briefed on the Iranian response told The
Associated Press that world powers would likely reject it.
The U.N. Security Council has set a deadline of next Thursday for Iran to
freeze enrichment, a possible pathway to nuclear arms and the six nations
offering to talk to Iran say such a step must precede the start of any
discussions.
But the diplomats said the 25-page document does not directly suggest an
enrichment moratorium even after negotiations start.
Instead, it includes only a vague reference to a willingness to discuss
all aspects of the country's nuclear program, said the diplomats who
spoke from two European capitals and asked for anonymity because they
were not authorized to discuss the confidential proposal.
They said the reaction among the six powers - France, Germany, Britain,
Russia, the United States and China was one of disappointment and even
anger that Tehran would not consider a suspension of uranium enrichment
as a precondition for any new talks.
A day after the U.S. administration issued a guarded assessment of Iran's
long-awaited response, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday said
it was unsatisfactory, and was missing a "decisive sentence" on whether
it would halt uranium enrichment.
"We are still examining it, but from everything that I hear we cannot be
satisfied," Merkel said in an interview with N24 television. "What we
expected is not set down here: 'We are suspending our uranium enrichment,
we are coming to the negotiating table and we will then talk about the
chances and possibilities for Iran.'"
The comments by Merkel, a close ally of President Bush, reflect the
increasing frustration of the United States and its key European allies
who have been forced to wait for several weeks for an Iranian response.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush spoke Thursday with Merkel
and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi about Iran, but Perino would not
say whether the leaders were of the same mind about what should be done
next.
The U.S. State Department has said that Iran considered its proposal to
be a serious one and promised to review it, as did the five other nations
that offered political and economic rewards to Tehran July 1 if it agreed
to a freeze enrichment.
But the diplomats suggested that despite assurances of a serious review,
the capitals involved found little of substance in the document.
One of them said that much of the Iranian response, delivered Tuesday,
confines itself to "a history of Iran's nuclear program from Tehran's
point of view," including arguments that enrichment was its right under
the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
In it, Iran also asks for more information on various elements of the
July 1 offer, including hints that Tehran's cooperation could lead to
bolstered security for the country and the possibility that some or all
U.S. sanctions might be lifted if there is agreement, said one of the
diplomats.
One of the diplomats told AP that the lack of Iranian flexibility on
enrichment would likely leave even Russia and China no choice but to
ultimately endorse U.N. sanctions against Iran. Moscow and Beijing
previously have steadily put the brakes on U.S-backed efforts to punish
Tehran quickly but have stipulated that Iran must freeze enrichment.
Iran maintains it has offered "positive and clear signals" to resolve the
dispute over its nuclear program.
Although neither Iran nor its six interlocutors have released the text of
Tehran's counteroffer, two well-informed Iranian academics said it
included about 100 questions, including a request for a timetable for the
West to implement its incentives package.
Abbas Maleki, director of the International Institute For Caspian Studies
in Tehran, and Kevah Afrasiabi, an author and political scientist, made
the statement Thursday in a report distributed by Agence Global.
The two also said that Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, had
declared Iran's willingness to use its influence in Lebanon for an
exchange of prisoners held by Hezbollah and Israel, "reminding the world
of Iran's stabilizing role."
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Wednesday that Iran
must suspend uranium enrichment if it wants to return to negotiations.
And the U.S. statement issued Wednesday went on to say that Iran's
response to a joint offer of U.S, and European trade and other benefits
if the enrichment program was halted "falls short of the conditions set
by the Security Council" full and verifiable suspension of all
uranium-enrichment activity.
Others are urging patience in dealing with Iran. Russia's foreign
ministry said it would continue to seek a negotiated solution, and China
appealed for patience and more dialogue.
The Security Council resolution gives Iran until next Thursday to suspend
enrichment. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency then will
report on the state of the program by mid-September. If IAEA chief
Mohamed ElBaradei's report finds that enrichment is continuing, as
expected, the council is then likely to move toward economic and
political sanctions.
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