Iran turns down uranium incentive offers from West

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-18  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

IRAN said yesterday uranium enrichment was not negotiable and would continue, despite an enhanced offer of incentives from major powers to stop activity the West fears could yield nuclear bombs.

The EU's top diplomat, Javier Solana, on Saturday presented Tehran with an adjusted package of economic benefits designed to persuade it to curb its nuclear work, and said Iran should stop enrichment during negotiations to implement the offer.

"We have repeatedly said that enrichment is our right and we should enjoy this technology. The work will be continued," deputy foreign minister Alireza Sheikhattar told reporters.

The incentive package agreed by countries including the United States, Russia, and Germany last month and delivered by Solana is a revised version of one rejected by Iran in 2006.

Western powers have warned Iran it will face more sanctions if it spurns the offer. Iran has shown no sign it will change its position, and suggested it was in no hurry to respond to the incentives proposal, saying it is being reviewed.

"We will give our answer as soon as possible. But we do not know exactly when it will be," the Iranian official said.

The incentives package offers Iran the chance to develop a civilian nuclear program with light water reactors - seen as harder to divert into bomb-making than the technology Tehran is now developing - and legally binding fuel supply guarantees.

It also offers trade and other benefits, including the possibility of Iran buying civil aircraft from the West.

A prominent Washington think-tank, the Institute for Science and International Security, said the package contained two important additions.

ISIS noted a passage saying the powers would "support" continued research and development in nuclear energy "as confidence is gradually restored" in Iran's intentions.

This suggested R&D could go on even during an enrichment halt and set a longer-term timetable for resolving core issues, ISIS said.

ISIS said the offer also alluded to possible security guarantees, a prime Iranian concern, by citing readiness to "reaffirm obligations under the UN Charter to refrain ... from the use of force against territorial integrity".

A senior Iranian official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters Iran's response would not be a straight yes-or-no answer. "It will be a discussable response," he said.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Monday Europe would take further sanctions against Iran, speaking of immediate action to freeze the overseas assets of Iran's biggest bank, the Bank Melli.