Iran Seeks Details in Response to Nuclear Proposal

Tehran is seeking more specific details and assurances about the Western powers’ proposal to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis, said two experts who have apparently seen Iran’s formal response to the offer (see GSN, Aug. 23).

The response, delivered this week, contains about 100 questions and requests for clarification, the London Guardian reported (Ian Traynor, The  Guardian, Aug. 25).

Some of those issues were described in an online commentary by Abbas Maleki, director of the International Institute for Caspian Studies in Tehran and a senior research fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and Kaveh Afrasiabi, a political scientist and author of a book on Iran’s nuclear program.

According to the two experts, Iran is seeking:

—specific assurances that it has the right to develop nuclear energy;

—firm guarantees that it could purchase light-water nuclear power reactors;

—assurances that it would receive supplies of nuclear fuel;

—clarification over U.S. willingness to lift economic sanctions;

—details of a regional security arrangement referred to in the original proposal; and

—a specific timeline for delivery of incentives.

The experts argue that Tehran’s response represents a victory for moderates in the Iranian government who prevailed against hard-liners who do not wish to see any negotiations with Western nations.

“Should the United States and its U.N. envoy, John Bolton, decide to ignore this opportunity and push for U.N. sanctions against Iran, despite the positive dimensions of Iran’s offer, the stage will be set for a full-scale international crisis (Maleki/Afrasiabi, AgenceGlobal.com, Aug. 23).

Despite an apparent willingness to talk, Iran did not agree to the U.N. Security Council’s demand to suspend uranium enrichment and other sensitive nuclear activities by Aug 31.  The incentives proposal to which Iran responded this week was issued by the five permanent Security Council members — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — and Germany.

The United States and Germany appear ready to push for imposing economic sanctions against Iran, the Associated Press reported today.  Iran’s refusal to freeze its nuclear program would eventually lead China and Russia to support such a move, said one senior diplomat who had been briefed on Iran’s response (George Jahn, Associated Press I/Boston Globe, Aug 24).

Russia, however, appeared to reject the idea of sanctions any time soon.

“I know of no instances in world practice and previous experience in which sanctions have achieved their aim and proved effective,” Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said today. 

“Moreover, I believe that the question is not so serious at the moment for the U.N. Security Council or the group of six to consider any introduction of sanctions,” he added.  “Russia stands for further political and diplomatic efforts to settle the issue” (Ron Popeski, Reuters, Aug. 25).

The Western nations of the six-party group had planned to meet in New York this week, but delayed the session to allow more time to study Iran’s response (Xinhua News Agency, Aug. 24).

In any case, U.S. officials said they would wait for the Security Council-established  Aug. 31 deadline for Iran to suspend its nuclear program before taking any formal action.

“Once we get there, we’ll begin to take action,” State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said yesterday (Anne Gearan, Associated Press II/Forbes.com, Aug. 25).

Meanwhile, an Iranian dissident group has accused Tehran of building and testing advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges (see GSN, March 21).  The National Council of Resistance of Iran asserted that Iran has assembled at least 15 P-2 centrifuges, a more-advanced version of a type Iran has acknowledged using. 

Such equipment could enrich uranium more efficiently, whether to produce nuclear fuel for power plants or material for weapons.

Council spokesman Mohammad Mohaddessin said Iran was conducting the work at a secret facility near Tehran (Agence France-Presse, Aug. 24).

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