Iran accused the United States on Sunday of steering Europe away from a
possible compromise on Tehran's disputed nuclear program.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said the US insistence on
conditional negotiations over a Western package of incentives has narrowed the
scope of possible talks and made it tougher for all parties to reach a solution.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left,
shakes hands with Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the Supreme Council for
the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, at the start of their meeting in Tehran,
Iran, Sunday, June 18, 2006. [AP] |
The incentives
are meant to persuade Iran to stop enriching uranium, a process that can make
nuclear fuel for a power plant or fissile material for an atomic bomb.
"We feel that the Americans are trying to take Europe to a point that the
case could not be easily solvable," Asefi said. "The U.S. said it gave a
deadline to Iran to respond to the package, but that is not correct. Again, they
mix different issues and that is not appropriate."
Asefi reiterated that enriching uranium was his country's unalienable right,
and that talks must be unconditional. He said Iranian officials were reviewing
the package, and Iran would propose amendments to the deal.
"We have formed different committees to review the package. When the
committees have concluded, we will send our answer to the Europeans
immediately," Asefi said.
Iran has called the package a "step forward," saying some of the incentives
were acceptable and calling for changes in others. It also said that the central
issue of uranium enrichment needed clarification.
In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Snow said Iran must take the next
step if it wished to cooperate with the international community and qualify for
the incentives.
"The Iranian government needs to suspend all uranium enrichment-related and
reprocessing activities," Snow told CNN's "Late Edition." "Once they do that,
once that is done, they can sit down at the table."
Iran denies accusations by the United States and others that it is seeking to
develop nuclear weapons, saying its program would only generate electricity.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana presented the package of
perks and possible penalties to Tehran on June 6. The package was drawn up by
the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States,
Britain, China, France and Russia - and Germany.
Crucially, the package calls on Iran to suspend, not permanently halt,
uranium enrichment as a condition for the start of talks, although the
negotiations are aimed at achieving Iranian acceptance long-term moratorium on
such activities.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Iran to accept the package.
"I can see that they take the offer seriously and I hope they will respond in
a not too distant future," Annan said while visiting Denmark.
Iran so far has said it will not give up its right under the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty to enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel, though
Tehran has indicated that it may temporarily suspend uranium enrichment to ease
tensions.
The package included some significant concessions by the United States,
including providing Iran with peaceful nuclear technology, lifting some
sanctions and joining direct negotiations with Tehran.
However, it also contains the implicit threat of UN sanctions if Iran remains
defiant.
