Special report: Iran Nuclear
Crisis
Iran replies to six-nation
proposal
Iran launches military
exercise
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Iran's chief nuclear
negotiator Ali Larijani (C) and European Union foreign policy chief Javier
Solana are surrounded by journalists in Vienna Sept. 10,
2006.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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BEIJING,
Sept. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani offered to
suspend Tehran's nuclear enrichment program for eight weeks during seven hours
of talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana over the weekend, an EU
diplomat said on Sunday.
But the diplomat was unclear whether Iran would meet
Western demands it suspend enrichment before talks on trade incentives designed
to halt Iranian pursuit of technology.
Two months is nothing, as the United States and
others want a long-term suspension to restore confidence that Iran's nuclear
programme is geared only to generate electricity, the diplomat was quoted by the
Reuters as saying.
The weekend talks in Vienna were seen as a final
chance to seek a compromise before possible punitive action after Iran ignored
an Aug. 31 Security Council deadline to stop purifying uranium for use as
nuclear fuel.
Larijani and Solana said they cleared up
misunderstandings and made progress in a search for common ground.
Solana consulted with foreign ministers of the six
powers by phone during the talks and would brief them on the
results before
they hold a conference call on Monday to discuss what to do next, EU diplomats
said.
However, Aliasghar Soltanieh, Iranian ambassador to
UN nuclear watchdog agency who accompanied Larijani, denied that a suspension
had been discussed with Solana.
"Iran has openly said that there is no legal and
technical basis for such a demand (to suspend enrichment)," Soltanieh told
Iranian state television in an interview aired from Vienna.
Tehran insists its nuclear programme, based on the
uranium enrichment, is entirely peaceful.
The US and Britain suspect that Iran is engaged in a
camouflaged bid to assemble nuclear bombs.
The EU, Russia, China and the US have offered Iran a
package of economic, trade, political and nuclear incentives if it shelves its
enrichment activities, but Tehran says it is willing to negotiate on the offer
only without any preconditions. Enditem
(Agencies)
EU, Iran declare headway in nuclear
talks
VIENNA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) and
Iran have made headway in their nuclear talks in Vienna, officials of both sides
declared on Sunday. >>>
US sanctions on Iran likely to focus
on finances
WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The United States is
likely to have sanctions on Iran to focus on cutting Tehran's Watch access to
international finances, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday. >>>
