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To: maceng2 who wrote (773)	5/14/2005 8:37:01 AM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1417

Tehran Times.com EU offers ministerial meeting with Iran for nuclear talks tehrantimes.com TEHRAN/VIENNA (Agencies) -- The foreign ministers of the European Union's three biggest powers sent a letter to Iran calling for a four-sided meeting for breaching the impasse in Iran-EU nuclear talks as Hassan Rowhani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, warned on Thursday Iran would no longer respect the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if it was denied the right to pursue a full civilian nuclear energy program. The EU letter, sent to Rowhani and news of which was first reported by the Washington Post, proposed "ministerial level talks" between the Iranians and Europeans within the next two weeks, EU diplomats said. The EU letter has stated that if Iran resume enrichment it "would bring the negotiating process to an end", an EU diplomat quoted the letter as saying. "The consequences could only be negative for Iran," the letter said. "If Iran cannot use its legitimate rights in the framework of the NPT, it will no longer have respect for the treaty," Rowhani told visiting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak. "Using the fuel cycle in the framework of the NPT and international regulations is Iran's final and national decision," Rowhani said. "The Iranian nation will not yield to pressures to be deprived of its legal rights and is ready to pay any cost," he added. "We believe that a part of our nuclear activities must be restarted, but we (Iran) are discussing the conditions and timing" of such resumption, Rowhani told state television. "But the main point is that we will resume a part of our activities in the near future," he added. British Prime Minister Tony Blair spelled out the potential consequences, telling reporters: "We certainly will support referral to the United Nations Security Council if Iran breaches its obligations and undertakings." U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States hoped that despite Iran's threats the Islamic republic would not derail the negotiations. "The Security Council always remains an option should the Iranians not live up to their obligations, but we are still hopeful that they will recognize where they are," she told U.S. lawmakers. Iran refuses to give up uranium fuel production, which it says is its sovereign right. Tired with the slow pace of talks, Tehran has informed the EU that time is running out and it will soon resume parts of its uranium enrichment program. Only hours earlier, a diplomat close to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told Reuters the UN agency was expecting a letter from Iran saying Tehran would restart part of its nuclear fuel program. Tehran's chief delegate to the IAEA, Sirus Naseri, arrived in Vienna on Wednesday with a letter for IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei, but he may not deliver it, diplomats said. An Iranian nuclear official said on Friday it may delay its decision to restart nuclear activities. "It is possible that this resumption is delayed for a while," Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO), was quoted as saying by state television. He nevertheless said that Iran was "certain" to eventually resume certain activities tied to the conversion of uranium ore but did not give any date. Nasseri told AFP from the Vienna headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that negotiations were continuing.