TEHRAN, 4 June 2006 — Iran made positive noises yesterday about finding a negotiated settlement to its dispute with the international community — providing it doesn’t have to stop enriching uranium.
The hard-line president and his foreign minister even used the word “breakthrough.” But both held fast to their insistence that Iran has a right to develop nuclear reactors and fuel for peaceful purposes.
Iran’s state-run television said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that a deal on the Islamic republic’s nuclear program was possible, if the International Atomic Energy Agency — the UN’s nuclear watchdog — agreed to Tehran’s right to atomic energy.
“A breakthrough to overcome world problems, including Iran’s nuclear case, would be the equal implementation of the law for all,” the television quoted Ahmadinejad as telling Annan during a telephone conversation.
Iran is a signatory to the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and insists that the treaty guarantees it the right to nuclear research for peaceful purposes.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki also said Iran was open to a negotiated solution for its nuclear program.
“We think that if there is good will, a breakthrough to get out of a situation they (the European Union and United States) have created for themselves... is possible,” Mottaki told a press conference.
Six world powers agreed on Thursday to offer Iran a new package of incentives if it gives up uranium enrichment, or sanctions if it refuses. The plan could either defuse a global confrontation with the Islamic regime or hasten one.
The United States warned Iran on Friday that it would not have much time to respond to the international package of rewards, suggesting that the window could close and be replaced by penalties if Iran doesn’t react fast. The US and its allies fear Iran is hiding a nuclear weapons program behind what Tehran claims is research and development of nuclear reactors for electricity generation.
“We are waiting to officially receive the proposals. We will make our views known after studying the package,” Mottaki said. “We will also mention if any part of the package is not in Iran’s interests,” he said, while insisting as well that Iran would not join talks if conditions were attached.
Mottaki said European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana would personally deliver the package to Iranian officials in the next few days. No specific date has yet been set for the trip, he said.
In Belgium, Solana’s spokeswoman Cristina Gallach confirmed he was ready to travel to Iran very soon. “The trip is not going to be a negotiating trip, the objective is to present the proposals of the international community,” she said.
