Nuclear freeze not mentioned in Iran’s message to EU: source

August 6, 2008 - 0:0

TEHRAN, Aug. 5 – An informed official at the Supreme National Security Council on Tuesday said Iran has delivered a message to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana over its nuclear program.

He insisted that the message was not a response to the latest offer of incentives put forward by the major powers in return for a halt in Iran’s uranium enrichment work.
Russia, China, the United States, Britain, France, and Germany last month offered Iran an updated package of incentives in a bid to end the West’s long-running nuclear standoff with the Islamic Republic.
The package, which is a follow-up of an original proposal in 2006, offers nuclear cooperation and wider trade in aircraft, energy, high technology, and agriculture.
The Islamic Republic has also presented its own package of proposals on ways to address international challenges, including the threat of nuclear proliferation, and has said it has found “common ground” between the two separate packages.
Iran has repeatedly ruled out suspending uranium enrichment as a precondition for talks with the major powers and has said it will hold talks “only on common points”.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili on Monday held a telephone conversation with Solana who is representing the major powers in nuclear talks with Iran.
Iranian officials asserted that the two sides did not discuss the freeze-for-freeze issue which would require Iran to freeze expansion of nuclear enrichment in return for world powers halting moves to impose further sanctions on the country.
Iranian and EU nuclear diplomats last held talks in Geneva on July 19 in the presence of U.S. undersecretary of state William Burns.
BA/PA END MNA