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European Powers Formulate Fresh Incentives for Iran
Three major European nations are readying new financial incentives to be granted Iran if it restores a moratorium on its uranium enrichment activities and resumes new nuclear negotiations, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, May 9). Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Iran to “return to the negotiating table.” “I would just like to say to the people of Iran: Obviously, if there is a way for Iran to accept the will of the international community, to accept proposals for civil nuclear power, this is the time for Iran to take that possibility, because no one wants to isolate the Iranian people,” she said. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, a noted hard-liner on Iran, also yesterday endorsed the effort by France, Germany and the United Kingdom. European diplomats said they hoped to persuade Russia and China to back tougher measures if Tehran remains indifferent to the renewed overture. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Monday that an “ambitious package” of incentives — including expanded commercial ties, energy guarantees and preservation Iran’s right to develop nuclear energy — were being formulated (Colum Lynch, Washington Post, May 10). A top Middle East adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would make a renewed offer to guarantee enriched uranium to Iran and other countries with civilian nuclear programs, the Washington Times reported today. Yevgeny Primakov told the Times that the proposal calls for declared nuclear-weapon states to produce and supply enriched uranium to non-nuclear weapon states. He said Russia might present the plan at the summit of the Group of Eight major industrialized nations, scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg in July. “The idea is that countries interested in uranium enrichment for peaceful means will turn to well-established members of the nuclear club for that purpose, instead of pursuing that process themselves,” Primakov said. He said Iran would be “one of many” recipients of the fuel. “This will allow Iran to comply with the offer without losing face,” he said (Svetlova/Martin, Washington Times, May 10). Rice continued to press for a Security Council resolution on Iran invoking Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows for enforcement measures such as sanctions or military intervention, despite continued opposition from Beijing and Moscow, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday. “The international community is united that there must be a strong message to Iran through the Security Council that their behavior to date is unacceptable,” she said. “The United States believes very strongly in a mandatory statement from the Security Council to Iran.” Asked whether invoking Article 40 of the chapter would be possible, which would allow Iran more time to comply with council demands, Rice said, “I’m not going to get into the diplomacy. Let’s give it time to work” (Agence France-Presse I/IranMania.com, May 9). The White House announced yesterday that it would make no formal written response to a letter sent to President George W. Bush by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, AFP reported. “We’ve already given our response,” said National Security Council spokesman Frederick Jones, referring to comments by Rice and other officials. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said the letter was not intended to influence members of the U.N. Security Council. “The letter from Ahmadinejad to Bush was not aimed at influencing the nuclear question. We are awaiting the reaction of the person it was addressed to,” Asefi said (Agence France-Presse II/Yahoo!News, May 9). Ahmadinejad, traveling in Indonesia, said Iran would “absolutely not back out” of defending its right to develop nuclear technology, the Associated Press reported. “They pretend that they are concerned about the nature of the nuclear program of the Islamic republic of Iran,” he said. “This is a big lie.” “Today the people of Iran are not just defending their own rights, but also those of other nations,” he added. “They [Western powers] want to prevent other countries from reaching the pinnacle of science and technology.” Ahmadinejad also defended his decision to send the letter to Bush. “If they choose not to answer our question, it depends on them,” he said. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, after meeting with Ahmadinejad, offered to help mediate the standoff between Iran and the West. Yudhoyono’s spokesman said Iran appeared open to the proposal. Meanwhile, a representative of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered suggestions on ways to resolve the issue in a letter to Time magazine, and Hassan Rohani, Iran’s former top nuclear negotiator, said Tehran would consider ratifying the Additional Protocol to its nuclear safeguards agreement, allowing for short-notice inspections (Chris Brummitt, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, May 10). Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, who holds the EU rotating presidency, said yesterday that Iran could be persuaded to give up any nuclear weapons ambitions if the United States becomes directly involved in negotiations with Tehran, Reuters reported. “What I would like is a process that doesn’t spiral into a crisis but one that leads in a positive direction,” Schuessel said. “But we need the full participation of the Americans,” he said (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, May 9). U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday that, given incorrect intelligence on prewar Iraq’s WMD programs, assessing Iran’s intentions should be done carefully, CNN reported. “You’re dealing with a closed society there, so clearly one has to be very careful,” Rumsfeld said. “The intelligence community had views on Iraq,” he said. “That information was available to the president, to me. It was the information that was available to [former] Secretary [of State] Colin Powell and [then National Security Advisor] Condi Rice, when they and [former CIA Director] George Tenet worked on [Powell’s] presentation for the United Nations over a period of many days.” “It’s a tough business. It’s a difficult thing to be right all the time. And the information was not correct. Does that give one pause? You bet,” he said (CNN.com, May 9).
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