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Iran Requests Resumption of Nuclear Talks With EU
Iran made a formal request to France, Germany and the United Kingdom yesterday to resume negotiations over its controversial nuclear program, the Washington Post reported (see GSN, Nov. 3). The European Union announced today that it is considering the offer, Agence France-Presse reported. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the EU would send its reply to Tehran in short order. “The Iranians are under the obligation to respond positively to the resolution of the Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency in late September and we look to them to do that,” he said (see GSN, Sept. 26). Straw said “informal discussions” with Tehran are continuing (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Nov. 7). A EU diplomat in Vienna said Iran’s refusal to suspend uranium fuel work makes its request to restart talks unacceptable, AFP reported yesterday. “No, definitely not,” the diplomat from one of the three EU powers said regarding the possibility of new talks (Agence France-Presse I/SpaceWar.com, Nov. 6). Iran, meanwhile, is reportedly seeking investors for its uranium enrichment operations, according to AFP. Cabinet officials were cited as granting the country’s atomic energy agency authority to seek investors, even though uranium enrichment remains frozen. “The government is authorizing the Iranian atomic energy agency to seek Iranian or foreign investors — from the public or private sectors — for the Natanz enrichment project,” AFP quoted press reports as saying (Agence France-Presse II/SpaceWar.com, Nov. 6). Tehran announced yesterday that it would convert another batch of uranium at its Isfahan facility, according to AFP. “We have told the (International Atomic Energy) Agency that we are going to inject new initial materials (uranium ore) into the production chain,” said Javad Vaidi, an official from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (Agence France-Presse III/SpaceWar.com, Nov. 6). Agency experts are unlikely to complete analysis of samples taken by inspectors at Iran’s Parchin military complex in time for a Nov. 24 Board of Governors meeting, diplomats said. “I think it’s way too close,” said a European diplomat close to the agency. The United States suspects Iran is conducting nuclear weapons work at the site. Lack of analysis is likely to decrease the chances that the board would decide on whether to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council over the nuclear program, the diplomat said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Nov. 4). Elsewhere, Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh announced yesterday that his country might reverse its vote on the September IAEA resolution censuring Iran at the next board meeting, the Associated Press reported. If a harsher resolution is tabled, “my recommendation to the government will be to revise our vote,” Singh said. India “will take decisions considering what we think is in our vital national interest,” he said (Vijay Joshi, Associated Press, Nov. 6).
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