Iran Offers Europe 'Guarantees' on Its Nuclear Program

Jad Mouawad, The New York Times:

President Mohammad Khatami said Wednesday that his country would not drop its uranium-enrichment program but was ready to provide "objective guarantees" that European negotiators were seeking about Iran's nuclear program. ...

"What is completely unacceptable to us is the cessation of these activities," Mr. Khatami said during a news conference here. "We have very specific proposals to provide these objective guarantees they have demanded from us." READ MORE

After several threats against Iran, the Bush administration softened its stance last week and said it was ready to work with the Europeans to give Iran incentives in exchange for an end to the nuclear program. It offered to lift its objections on Iran's application to the World Trade Organization and to provide aircraft parts to Tehran.

Iran rejected the American proposal. Asked whether there was anything the United States could provide to entice Iran, Mr. Khatami replied in English with a simple "No."

The Europeans have been seeking guarantees about Iran's enrichment program, a critical process to manufacturing fuel for civilian nuclear reactors but one that also can produce the atomic core for weapons.

Mr. Khatami said that as long as talks with the Europeans continued, Iran would maintain the freeze on its enrichment program that was agreed to last year. But he warned that if talks dragged on, the program might resume.

"If the Europeans insist on a cessation, that is obviously a breach of the agreement we reached with them," he said through a translator. "If they break the agreement, whatever happens after, the responsibility lies with the Europeans."

To win American involvement, Britain, France and Germany agreed to support the United States in taking the matter before the United Nations Security Council if Iran resumed its nuclear activities.

At a news conference in Washington on Wednesday, President Bush said diplomacy required patience, "and our diplomatic objective is to continue working with our friends to make it clear to Iran we speak with a single voice."

Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, has argued that a civilian nuclear program used to produce electrical power would free more crude oil for export. Iran consumes nearly a third of the oil it produces.

"We should have a rightful access to nuclear technology," Mr. Khatami said. "As for the fuel, we can't wait for others to deny us the access to use what we've invested in this venture."

Following his news conference, Mr. Khatami alluded to the risk to the security of oil supplies posed by American policies in the Middle East. He made the comments in Isfahan during a dinner for visiting oil ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

After the Islamic revolution in 1979, the United States imposed economic and commercial sanctions on Iran, including restrictions on investments and technology transfers in the country's oil and gas industry.

Without mentioning the United States by name, Mr. Khatami said in his speech that "certain big powers" were "using oil as a political instrument to impose unilateral economic sanctions on producing countries."

The article fails to mention that Iran has enough electrical power to supply power to most if not all its neighbors.