Iran nuclear issue shifts back to UN Security Council
Iran-European Union, Politics, 7/13/2006

Having failed at the UN before, the Europeans and the US decided yesterday to try again to see if they can gather support for sanctions against Iran regarding the nuclear issue by shifting their efforts back to the UN Security Council.

The French foreign minister Filippe Douste Lazie who read a statement in Paris after the meeting said that if Iran "would yield to the IAEA and the UNSC decisions and enter negotiations" then the issue would not be pursued at the Security Council, adding "We are still waiting for Iran's positive response to our package of proposals."

Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Ali Larijani today dismissed staying away from talks and making negotiation useless and formal in practice by setting preconditions.

Larijani made the remark while speaking to reporters upon arrival at Tehran airport from his tour of several European states, during which he held talks with the EU High Representative for Security and Foreign Policy Javier Solana on Europe's proposal.

Talking to domestic and foreign media, he said that all problems can only be brought up during negotiations, adding that otherwise they make no sense. "We believe that talks should be totally open to enable both sides to express their logic and basic views. Claims cannot seem more rational just by being attributed to big powers."

"In practice, such absolutism limits talks and prejudged issues will be brought up. Therefore putting any impediment along the path of negotiations, imposing limitations and using a threatening tone will have no impact on Iran's will. However, this can make the process of solving the issue longer," he added.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator said that the best option for European negotiators will be to start open and multidimensional talks quickly rather than sticking to the restrictions offered by the US.

Larijani said that in his meeting with Solana in Brussels he underlined Iran's full readiness for holding talks about the proposal received from the 5+1 group.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad today said "Nobody should expect that tense relations which have existed for several years can be settled in a very short period of time," he advised the European governments. The Iranian government is studying the proposal and is trying to find a positive response to it, he added.

Expressing his dissatisfaction with the negative publicity being waged by the Europeans against the Iranian government, he said the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran is studying the proposal shows Iran's good will.

Ahmadi-Nejad accused the US of to trying to create tension. "If the Iranian nation and government come to the conclusion that Western countries do not have the goodwill (to resolve the nuclear issue), they will change their policy regarding the package of incentives," he said.

Iran has indicated that the EU and US taking this issue again to the UN Security Council would be counter productive on any negotiation. It is not clear if this may lead Iran to abandon a reply to the incentives offer package that it had intended to give in August.

The EU and US have suffered great loss for their position in trying to prevent Iran from making its own nuclear fuel, with world countries supporting Iran's right in this regard.

Previous Stories:
  President: Iran will not give up nuclear right   (7/12/2006)
  All countries have rights to access to nuclear energy :Egypt   (7/10/2006)
  Iran's case not complicated: Larijani   (7/10/2006)

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