EU diplomat to deliver Iran proposal
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-05 21:22
Iranian officials have agreed to meet Tuesday with a senior EU representative
delivering a six-nation package of rewards and penalties meant to stop Tehran's
uranium enrichment program, diplomats said.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
waves before speaking in Tehran, June 4, 2006.
[Reuters] |
Javier Solana, chief European Union foreign policy official, had been
expected to present the proposal to Iranian officials sometime this week, but
the precise day had not been divulged. The diplomats, who spoke on condition of
anonymity because the timetable was confidential, said Monday that Solana would
submit the package to Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki the following day.
The package put together by the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France
and Germany dangles the promise of economic and political incentives if Tehran
relinquishes domestic enrichment, which can generate power as well as make
weapons-grade uranium for warheads. It also contains the threat of U.N.
sanctions if Iran remains defiant.
In a breakthrough last week, the United States agreed to join in
multinational talks on the package if Tehran suspends enrichment.
Diplomats said Monday that Washington has sweetened the offer by saying it
will lift some bilateral sanctions on Tehran such as a ban on Boeing passenger
aircraft and related parts if Iran agrees to an enrichment freeze.
Iranian officials have sent conflicting signals on the six-nation initiative,
reflecting a possible struggle within the leadership on how to react.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, normally a hardline critic of the
United States who insists that Tehran has a right to enrichment, said on the
weekend that a breakthrough in negotiations was possible and welcomed the U.S.
offer to join talks, while rejecting preconditions.
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