Deal on inspection takes heat off

GENEVA - Iran appeared to pull back from confrontation with the West over its nuclear programme yesterday, agreeing to admit inspectors to a newly revealed nuclear plant and to surrender some of its enriched uranium to be processed abroad, a concession which could delay any Iranian efforts to acquire a nuclear bomb.

Iran made no immediate commitment to freeze or halt its uranium enrichment programme but signalled that it was willing to engage in an intensive dialogue with the West.

The moves came during crucial talks in Switzerland between envoys from Iran and six world powers, during which the official high-level silence between America and Iran - which has lasted almost intact for 30 years - was broken decisively and substantively.

On a mandate from President Barack Obama, the United States diplomat William Burns held a one-to-one meeting with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, in an effort to defuse the crisis over suspicions that Iran is actively seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Described as "a significant conversation", the encounter between the two men was engineered by the Obama Administration in the hope of using dialogue to draw the Iranians into intensive negotiations aimed at persuading them to suspend uranium enrichment in exchange for incentives. There were hopeful signs that Obama's direct overture could yield results.

Javier Solana, the EU foreign affairs chief, announced that Iran would admit inspectors "within weeks" to the newly revealed nuclear site near the holy city of Qom.

He said that Iran and the six world powers would now move into a phase of intensive dialogue with further talks this month.

Crucially it was also revealed that Iran had agreed in principle to hand over roughly three-quarters of its stockpiles of low-enriched uranium for further enriching in Russia and France. The material will then be re-exported back to Iran for use in a research reactor for medical purposes.

If implemented, the deal would allow Iran to save face by enabling it to claim that it had access to the stocks of enriched nuclear fuel which it needed. But it would dampen any hopes harboured by Tehran of turning this low-enriched uranium into bomb-grade material.

Western diplomats said that the Geneva talks had opened the way to "an intensive process".

They said last week's revelations that a previously undeclared nuclear site existed at Qom had altered the dynamics of the standoff. "The Iranians now know we mean business," said one official.

The opportunity to talk was presented as a last-chance option and was weighted with a December deadline.

If Iran refuses to enter into intensive dialogue accompanied by the practical "confidence-building" measures, the big powers have made it clear that they will move to hit the Islamic Republic with harsh economic sanctions.

The face-to-face talks between Burns and Jalili took place on the margins of a meeting between Iran and representatives of Germany, the EU, and the five UN Security Council members - America, China, Russia, France and Britain.

It was the first resumption of seven-nation talks in 15 months - and was the first time the US was participating fully.

All eyes were on the "bilateral" between the American and Iranian envoys.

European diplomats said that the symbolic importance of the encounter was crucial. "This was really very important" said one official.

"We have to be cautious, there is a long way to go yet, but this was key in changing the atmosphere."

Technically, the first encounter between Iran and the US since diplomatic relations ended in 1980 - after the Islamic revolution and the ensuing American hostage crisis - took place two years ago in Baghdad. But that was a three-way meeting to discuss Iraq organised by the Iraqis.

Burns was also present at a big powers meeting last year which the Iranians also attended. But under the Bush Administration, he was denied a mandate to engage directly with his Iranian counterpart and it was made clear that the American presence was a one-off event.

This time, significantly, the US delegate had been instructed to draw the Iranians into a continuing process on a whole range of bilateral concerns, including the Middle East peace process and Afghanistan, which could ultimately lead to the restoration of diplomatic relations.

Yesterday's meetings in Switzerland came amid mounting alarm over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Last week, the leaders of the US, France and Britain dramatically revealed the existence of the previously undisclosed uranium enrichment plant in mountains near Qom. It is hidden partly underground on a Revolutionary Guard military base.

The Western powers suspect the facility is part of a network of secret nuclear bomb-making factories.

Iran claims that it is merely intended to feed enriched uranium to nuclear power plants and denies any attempt at a cover-up which would be illegal under UN rules.

The Western powers used the alarm generated by the Pittsburgh announcement to ratchet up pressure on Iran at the talks yesterday to come clean on the Qom plant and to allow closer scrutiny of its entire nuclear programme by inspectors from the UN atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In exchange, they are offering to freeze sanctions and provide a range of economic incentives. These were placed back on the table yesterday.

But in an effort to avoid what diplomats said would mean "lighting a fuse", Iran was not immediately threatened with the harsh sanctions for which Obama, backed by Britain and France, has been trying to assemble international support.

Instead, Tehran was first pressed to enter into negotiations with a view to a year-end deal to freeze its enrichment activities.

In return, there would be a range of diplomatic "carrots" such as co-operation and technical assistance with its nuclear energy industry and allowing trade in spare parts for Iran's civil aviation fleet.

Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, said that the Geneva talks had opened the door to progress. She called the talks between Iran and the big powers productive but said that Iran still had to take concrete actions.

"There were a number of issues raised, put on the table, and now we have to wait and see how quickly and whether Iran responds."

In New York, Iran's Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, made plain his Government's interest in eventually arranging an Iran-US summit.

"From the point of the level of discussions ... the Islamic Republic of Iran has the readiness to enhance the level of such talks up to the level of a summit meeting," he said, speaking through an interpreter, to reporters at the UN headquarters.

A day earlier, he had paid an unexpected visit to Washington, the first such high-level trip to the US capital by an Iranian official in 10 years.

His movements may be a carefully choreographed effort by Tehran to signal its interest in pursuing some kind of conversation with the US, though suspicions remain that it may simply be playing for more time.

- INDEPENDENT