Oxfam responds to the critical situation in locust-affected West Africa
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Iran says chances of nuke deal with EU "not small"
10 Feb 2005 18:08:16 GMT
Source: Reuters
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By Paul Hughes TEHRAN, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Iran stepped back from its tough rhetoric of recent days on Thursday, saying there was a "not small" chance Tehran would reach a deal with European Union negotiators on its nuclear programme. Iranian officials have been signalling impatience with the pace of talks and the "seriousness" of EU negotiators who are trying to persuade Tehran to scrap activities such as uranium enrichment which can be used to make atomic bombs. "The chance of striking an agreement is not small because Iran is quite flexible in this regard," Hossein Mousavian, a senior official at Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told state television. "We welcome any kind of guarantees to prove that Iran will not divert to making bombs in future," he said. The Iran-EU talks, which are due to continue in Geneva on Friday, are taking place against a backdrop of sustained pressure from Washington which wants Iran reported to the U.N. Security Council where it could face sanctions. Unlike North Korea, which on Thursday announced it had built nuclear weapons, Iran denies any intention of ever using its nuclear facilities for anything other than generating electricity. It has agreed to suspend key work, like uranium enrichment, while the talks with the EU continue but insists the freeze is temporary. "In the sessions this week we are witnessing a slight change of behaviour from the Europeans," Mousavian said. "If they strengthen this seriousness we will be in a position in mid-March to say whether we can reach an agreement," he added. RHETORIC AND RETREAT Mousavian said Iran would be prepared, if necessary, to accept tighter inspections of its nuclear plants to prove it was not using them to make weapons. "For a country which is not pursuing the bomb it is not a problem to have more inspectors," he said. One European diplomat in Tehran said it was typical for Iran to turn up the heat of its rhetoric in the run-up to a round of talks with the EU and then soften its stance afterwards. "It's typical posturing. At the end of the day they don't want to go to the Security Council so they need to continue the EU talks," the diplomat said. But while he struck a far more positive tone than that set by other Iranian officials in recent days, Mousavian reiterated that Iran would not give up its right to produce its own nuclear fuel for power plants. "Our first choice is to have (uranium) enrichment with the world trusting us. But if the world doesn't want to interact with Iran within the framework of nuclear agreements, the second choice would be to continue our nuclear activities, which could have a heavy cost for Iran," he said. Diplomats in Geneva said technical level talks between officials from Britain, France and Germany, representing the European Union, and Iran would be extended to a fourth day on Friday. At the end of the negotiations, the officials would report back to capitals on whether a further round of talks should be held next month, possibly in Paris, they added. (Additional reporting by Richard Waddington in Geneva)
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