France tells Iran to stop atomic work before talks

PARIS - World powers are ready to respond to Iran's call for talks over its nuclear ambitions but only if it first suspends uranium enrichment, France said today.

Iran handed over its response to an incentives package offered by six nations yesterday, saying it offered ideas that would allow serious talks to start immediately. The West has in the past said such calls for talks were a stalling tactic.

"As we have always said ... a return to the negotiating table is tied to the suspension of uranium enrichment," French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told a news conference.

There has been no sign Tehran agrees to this precondition, which it has previously dismissed as unacceptable.

The UN Security Council has warned Iran could face possible sanctions if it does not meet an August 31 deadline to freeze enrichment, a process that can be used to make fuel for nuclear power plants or material for warheads.

The five permanent UN Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany offered Iran economic and other incentives to stop enrichment. So far, they have not given their verdict on Iran's reply.

One EU diplomat earlier said Iran had ruled out halting enrichment before talks in the 21-page reply "but indicated that it might be open to accept suspension in the course of negotiations".

The Washington Post quoted unidentified officials from countries involved saying Iran was willing to consider halting its atomic programme but not as a precondition for negotiations.

"In the reply, although (the West) has taken destructive measures, Iran has tried to create new opportunities for resolving the issue," senior Iranian nuclear official Ali Hosseinitash told Iran's official IRNA news agency.

Douste-Blazy described the reply as "a very long, complex document" and said the six powers would decide in a few days what to do in the Security Council.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who delivered the offer to Iran in June, said the reply "requires a detailed and careful analysis".

The White House said yesterday US President George W. Bush had yet to examine the reply. The US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said Washington was ready to move quickly on a resolution seeking sanctions if Tehran rejected the offer.

Answers needed

Analysts say Iran's answer was probably designed to divide Security Council members Russia and China, both key trade partners of Tehran, from the United States, France and Britain which have backed tougher sanctions.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement urged Iran to consider international concerns and take "constructive steps". "We also hope that other parties remain patient and calm," it added.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying: "Russia will continue with the idea of seeking a political, negotiated settlement concerning Iran's nuclear programme."

The world's fourth-largest oil exporter, Iran says it will not abandon uranium enrichment for peaceful means, which it says is its right under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Western diplomats say Iran has that right only once it has proved it is not seeking to make atomic bombs.

Oil prices, which have surged to record highs in recent months partly on tensions over the atomic standoff, fell below US$73 a barrel on Wednesday. Traders said Iranian intransigence was factored into the market.

The nuclear package offered Iran state-of-the-art nuclear technology, the easing of some trade restrictions and other incentives such as support for a regional security dialogue.

After receiving the offer, Iran had said it saw ambiguities that needed clarification. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported that 100 questions were attached to Iran's reply.

- REUTERS