JEDDAH, 25 October 2004 — Iran yesterday rejected a European Union proposal to stop enriching uranium and indicated it is ready for a showdown with the Security Council on its alleged plans to build atomic weapons.
“The European proposal is dead,” Haddad Adel, speaker of Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament), told Arab News hours after it rejected the EU proposal.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi later confirmed the decision at a press conference in Tehran. “The EU proposal is unbalanced ... an indefinite uranium suspension is unacceptable for Iran,” Asefi said.
But Asefi left the door open for an agreement after further talks scheduled for later this week in Vienna.
“We view the European offer as a preliminary proposal, not a final one,” he said.
“Negotiations will continue on Wednesday. We will have our own suggestions and we will study the Europeans’ proposal and will give the Europeans the results.”
The deal, worked out over months of negotiations between a European trio — Britain, Germany and France — and Iran, wanted Tehran to give up uranium enrichment in exchange for fuel supplies from the EU.
Last month the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gave Iran until Nov. 25 to meet its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).
Iran says it has already done so and that the pressure from the IAEA is solely due to “intrigues by Washington.” The United States accuses Iran of using its atomic program as a veil for developing a nuclear arsenal. Many experts believe that Iran has already made a strategic decision to develop a nuclear military capacity within the next five years.
Adel said a majority of Iranian parliamentarians opposed giving foreigners a say in shaping Iran’s energy policies. “There is no reason why we should submit to rules that do not apply to others,” the speaker added.
The American threat to take Iran to the Security Council and subject it to stringent sanctions has not impressed Tehran.
Iran feels it can rely on permanent Security Council members Russia and China to use their veto power or at least abstain in any vote against Iran.
Western diplomats believe that Iran’s negotiating tactics is an attempt to buy time or squeeze more concessions from the Europeans. Another consideration is that Iran wishes to wait and see who wins the American presidential election next week.
“The Iranians believe that one day, down the line, they would have to directly deal with the United States,” says a British diplomat. “If John Kerry wins in the US, the Iranians may well take up his offer of a dialogue. In that case, Tehran would no longer need the EU on this issue. If, on the other hand, President George W. Bush wins a second term, Iran may come back to the EU in a bid to draw a wedge between the US and the Europeans.”
