 Iran replies to six nations' nuke query
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-06 07:26 TEHERAN: Iran has handed over its written reply to a six-country backed proposal to defuse the row over its nuclear program to European Union (EU) officials, Iran's Fars News Agency said yesterday. An EU official in Brussels, however, could not confirm the report. The six countries have offered to refrain from steps to impose more UN sanctions if Iran freezes expansion of its nuclear work - an initial step to get talks going on a broader resolution to the standoff. On Monday, the US and its Western allies said that if Iran's response was not positive, the next step would be to expand UN curbs on the country. The UN Security Council has imposed three rounds of sanctions on Iran since 2006. Russia and China, permanent members of the UN Security Council, have been against curbs on Iran and voted for the three sanctions resolutions only after the initial drafts were watered down. The other four countries are the US, the UK, France and Germany. Western officials, who fear Iran wants to build a nuclear bomb despite its denials, said they had been told Teheran would give a written reply later yesterday. "Iran's written response to the six countries involved in the nuclear negotiations was handed to officials at the European Union by Iran's ambassador to Brussels," Fars said, without giving any further details. The "freeze-expansion" idea is aimed at getting preliminary discussions going before starting full negotiations on a package of nuclear, trade and other incentives. But such formal talks would not begin till Iran suspends uranium enrichment. Enrichment is the part of Iran's program that worries the West the most because it can have both civilian and military uses. Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, insists it is only seeking to master the technology to generate electricity, and has repeatedly refused to stop its nuclear programe. Agencies (China Daily 08/06/2008 page1) |
