BAGHDAD: World powers sought yesterday to pave the way to ending the decade-old and escalating Iran nuclear crisis by laying out a new package of proposals they said would be “of interest” to Tehran.
The P5+1 — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — were however expected to tell Iran that its demand for sanctions relief is out of the question until it has taken concrete steps to ease their suspicions.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton laid out at the start of the talks a new package of P5+1 proposals that were thought to include Iran suspending the enrichment of uranium to 20 percent in return for various sweeteners.
“We are putting proposals on the table that are also of interest to Iran,” Ashton’s spokesman Michael Mann told reporters. “There are things we can do for Iran.”
“We hope the Iranians will come back with a positive reaction to our proposals to deal with the concerns of the international community ... The ball is in their court now.”
A P5+1 source said that the Iranians’ response so far had been 25 minutes of “all rhetoric rather than positive response.”
Media reports said the package included a revival of previous attempts at a deal whereby Iran would ship abroad its stockpiles of enriched uranium in return for fuel for a reactor producing medical isotopes.
In return the P5+1 are expected to demand that Iran suspend what they see as the most worrying part of Tehran’s nuclear program, namely 20-percent enrichment.
Iran however on Tuesday announced it was loading domestically produced, 20-percent enriched uranium fuel into the reactor.
The capability to enrich to that level has raised fears in much of the international community that Iran could relatively quickly refine uranium to 90 percent purities — the level needed for a nuclear weapon, if it decided to.
The media reports, described by one P5+1 diplomat as “pretty spot on,” said the world powers would not offer to relax existing sanctions or postpone other restrictions due to come into force, as Iran wants.
Instead, Iran could be given a pledge of no new sanctions, easier access to aircraft parts and a possible suspension of an EU insurance ban on ships carrying Iranian oil.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow that Iran “is ready to agree on concrete actions.”
Russia has urged that new talks be based on a formula under which nations gradually lift four sets of UN sanctions on Iran once it begins meeting specific concerns.
Lavrov said this process should last “until we reach the stage where it becomes clear to everyone that Iran’s nuclear program does not have a military dimension.”
New nuke package on the table for Iran
