Iran: The EU and the United States have agreed a joint approach to persuade Iran not to build a nuclear weapons, offering economic incentives but holding out the threat of sanctions if Tehran does not co-operate.
Washington has agreed to support Iran's membership of the World Trade Organisation and to lift its objections to the sale of Airbus aircraft and spare parts to Tehran. In return, the EU has promised to refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council if it resumes uranium enrichment and nuclear reprocessing, activities that could create a nuclear weapons capability.
Germany, France and Britain, which have been leading negotiations with Iran on behalf of the EU, told Luxembourg's EU Presidency yesterday that progress in the talks was not as fast as they would wish.
In a letter to Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker, they said the dispute could be resolved if Tehran co-operated fully with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency and continued its suspension of all enrichment and reprocessing.
"If on the other hand, despite our efforts Iran does not do so, then as has been implicit in the agreements reached with Iran and well understood by all concerned, we shall have no choice but to support referring Iran's nuclear programme to the UN Security Council," they said.
The EU statement was part of an agreement with Washington, which has until now opposed offering any incentives to Iran, arguing that Tehran should not be rewarded simply for fulfilling its obligations as a signatory of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice last night said Washington's support for economic incentives was meant as an endorsement of European diplomacy rather than as a reward for Iran.
The EU-US agreement follows president George Bush's visit to Europe last month, when he said he would consider European ideas on how best to resolve the dispute. The US will not join the European talks with Iran, but Washington's agreement to back economic incentives represents a dramatic shift in policy.
Iran insists its uranium-enrichment suspension is voluntary and temporary and says it will not give up its right to enrich uranium for nuclear energy.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty allows signatories to enrich uranium if such work is peaceful, declared and monitored by the IAEA. Low-enriched uranium can only be used for purposes such as nuclear energy but high-enriched uranium can be used to produce nuclear weapons.