Iran speaks to EU over nuclear work

An EU official says Iran has discussed an offer from major powers concerning negotiations over its nuclear programme.

Political fusion: The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, visiting the Natanz uranium enrichment facilities.

BRUSSELS // The Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and the European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana discussed an offer from major powers on Tehran's nuclear programme today, a European Union official said. He gave no details of whether Iran had accepted or rejected the major powers' conditions for entering formal negotiations, which are a freeze on expanding its uranium enrichment drive in return for holding off on further United Nations sanctions. "Mr Solana will be in touch with the authorities of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States," the EU official said. Western officials had set an informal deadline of Saturday for Tehran to respond to their conditions for negotiations.

Iran dismissed the deadline and its failure to reply by Saturday prompted the United States to say the UN Security Council now had no choice but to increase sanctions. The council has imposed three sets of penalties on Iran since 2006. The European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has been representing the six powers in talks to defuse the row, while Iran is represented by its chief negotiator Saeed Jalili.

Iran has repeatedly ruled out halting its nuclear work. "Enrichment is Iran's inalienable right," Hasan Qashqavi, the spokesman for the Iranian ministry of foreign affairs, said. "When it comes to our inalienable rights, we will press ahead." Like other Iranian officials he dismissed the idea of a deadline. He also noted opposition to a deadline by Russia, one of the six powers. Moscow said it was against setting a time limit but also called on Iran not to drag its feet.

Russia along with China has been more reluctant to impose sanctions in the past, but has voted for all three sanctions resolutions. The United States, Britain, France and Germany are the other four powers behind the incentives package. "When it comes to sanctions, experience shows that, I am sure, it is ineffective, especially when it comes to the nuclear issue," Mr Qashqavi said. *Reuters