Len, sometimes I feel at a loss about what exactly the EU and US are negotiating with Iran... I mean, from the article below, it's clear that no matter how many "incentives" are pledged to Iran, the latter will never give up her nuclear program altogether... There's no point sweetening the deal!
I'm afraid we're in for WWIII... It's merely a matter of time for the Israeli spark plug to stir it.
Iran warns U.S. against taking nuclear issue to UN
By Nazila Fathi The New York Times
Monday, March 7, 2005
TEHRAN Iran's chief nuclear negotiator has said that the nation will never permanently cease enriching uranium and has warned that if the United States goes to the United Nations Security Council to seek sanctions, "the security and stability of the region would become a problem."
The statements were made at the opening Saturday of a rare conference on nuclear technology in Tehran, to which three American scholars were invited. The Iranian negotiator, Hassan Rowhani, also said the government wanted to see progress in its negotiations with Europe by the middle of this month.
"We will end the negotiations if we feel there is no tangible progress by then," he said.
Rowhani issued his warnings at the end of a week in which the United States strongly suggested that it was looking for ways to demonstrate it would join Europe in offering incentives for Iran to dismantle its enrichment program entirely. But no final offer has been made and senior U.S. officials said that it might be several weeks before the Bush administration settled on what kind of package it was willing to contribute.
Several administration officials said that in talks with the European nations negotiating with Iran - Britain, France and Germany - Bush's aides had insisted that Europe also agree on what kind of sanctions would be appropriate if Iran refused the incentives.
"There has to be a timetable," one senior U.S. official said.
"There has to be a common understanding of how we deal with Iran if it insists that it will resume enriching uranium or takes other steps that we think are likely to give it bomb fuel," the official said.
Iran insists that its program is for entirely peaceful purposes.
Alireza Akbari, a former general with the Revolutionary Guards and former deputy defense minister, who opposes any compromise over Iran's enrichment program, said the technology was vital.
"What oil did for Iran over 100 years, nuclear technology can do in 20 years," he said. "It will transform Iran because so many other fields are involved with the technology."
iht.com |
