 |
|
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
   |  | |||||||||||||||||||||
EU chief 'to deliver Iran deal'
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- Europe's foreign policy chief is ready to head to Tehran to present new international incentive offers to persuade Iran to halt uranium enrichment, even as the country's president says it is not prepared to abandon its nuclear ambitions. The EU's Javier Solana is expected to leave Brussels on Sunday for a Middle East tour which could accommodate a detour to the Iranian capital, but the date of any visit could not be confirmed his assistant Christina Gallach told CNN. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that his country was not prepared to stop its nuclear activities, however Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Saturday that a breakthrough was possible and welcomed unconditional talks with all parties, including the United States. (Watch as Iran's president refuses to back down -- 2:03) "We think that if there is a good will, a breakthrough to get out of a situation they (the EU and the United States) have created for themselves... is possible," Mottaki said, according to AP. On Thursday, six world powers meeting in Vienna agreed to "substantive" incentives in an attempt to coax Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment. The six powers, the five veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council, along with Germany, agreed on a "set of far-reaching proposals" on Thursday. While details will be kept secret until Iran has seen them, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said the suggestions will form the foundation for resuming talks with Iran. The package still hinges on Iran halting its nuclear enrichment program. (Watch what will happen next if Iran does not agree -- 2:08) "We believe that (the proposals) offer Iran the chance to reach a negotiated agreement based on cooperation," Beckett said. In an interview with CNN, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Iran needs "to make a choice and the international community needs to know whether negotiation is a real option or not." State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Friday that the package is a "clear choice" for Iran. "This is a real and sincere effort at diplomacy," he said. "It is about giving Iran that kind of clear choice that we've been talking about. And we'll see what Iran does." The incentive proposal follows Rice's meeting with foreign ministers from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia in Vienna, Austria, the headquarters of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency.(Watch the U.S. strategy on Iran -- 2:23) Rice said Iran must respond in "a matter of weeks." If Iran agrees to suspend its nuclear reprocessing and enrichment activities, potential Security Council actions against Tehran will be suspended, Beckett said. If Iran refuses, "further steps would have to be taken in the Security Council," she said without elaborating. The announcement appears to mark the first time China and Russia have been on the same page as Washington regarding the issue. Though the consequences of Iran refusing to halt enrichment weren't laid out, China and Russia's agreement to the deal is key. The two countries have hesitated to call for sanctions on Iran in the past, and both could veto any Security Council resolution punishing Iran for refusing to stop its enrichment and reprocessing activities. Despite Iran's insistence that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes, the United States and its European allies fear the nation is attempting to develop nuclear weapons. Iran ended its voluntary cooperation with the IAEA in February, which included ending surprise inspections of its nuclear facilities. Iran said in April that it used 164 centrifuges to produce energy-grade uranium. Experts say thousands of centrifuges are needed to produce the necessary concentrations for a nuclear bomb. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| © 2007 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
