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Iran Leaves Door Open For Nuclear Discussions
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U.S. and European officials said they would then use the occasion to issue Iran an ultimatum to reverse course or find the matter in the hands of the Security Council, which has the authority to impose economic sanctions or threaten Iran with force if the program is seen as a danger.
The diplomatic crisis over Iran's nuclear program deepened after a difficult round of negotiations last month in London between Iranians and negotiators from France, Britain and Germany.
The negotiations are aimed at resolving suspicions about the nuclear program that Iran developed in secret over 18 years. Iran says it intended the program for nuclear energy, not weapons. IAEA inspectors have not found proof Iran is using the program as a cover for bombmaking, but the Bush administration has not been convinced.
Iran has said from the beginning that it plans to keep its program intact; the Europeans are hoping to persuade Iran to give up the sensitive aspects of the program that could be diverted for weapons work.
European officials have said that is why they rejected an offer by Iran last month to continue operating the sensitive equipment. Iranian officials responded to the rejection by suggesting that negotiations were coming to an end.
Iranian officials, however, chose more subtle language in public yesterday.
"No certain day is fixed for resumption. It is possible to postpone it some days," Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told state-run TV, according to the Associated Press.
Privately, a senior Iranian diplomat said his government had not made any decision about resuming the nuclear work and had responded positively to an offer in the European letter for a four-way meeting to discuss the issue. Iran wants the meeting held in Tehran, saying that it would be difficult for officials to leave the country so close to Iran's June 17 presidential elections. European diplomats said they wanted guarantees that Iran was serious about maintaining its nuclear suspension before Europe sent a delegation to the Iranian capital.
