Iran Says Parts Of Nuclear Plan Are Acceptable

Other Proposals Rejected, With No Specifics Offered

TEHRAN, June 11 -- Iran said Sunday that it accepted some parts of a Western offer aimed at getting Tehran to drop its nuclear program, but it rejected others and called the central point ambiguous.

Iran said the key issue of uranium enrichment -- a process that can create nuclear fuel for a power plant or fissile material for an atomic bomb -- needed clarification.

Although the government did not give specifics, the comments were the first in which Iran has said directly that it rejects or accepts parts of the package.

Ali Larijani, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, said his government would reject the package outright if Western powers threatened the Islamic republic with sanctions.

The comments came as the United States and Europe lobbied other nations to join them this week in urging Iran to accept the offer -- and warning of U.N. Security Council action if it does not -- according to documents shared with the Associated Press in Vienna.

The package, presented by the five permanent Security Council members -- the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain -- plus Germany, contains a series of incentives for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment, which would allow negotiations over its nuclear ambitions.

The incentives include promises that the United States and Europe would provide Iran with nuclear technology and that Washington would join direct talks with Tehran.

Iran has not responded to the offer, and it underlined Sunday that it would not be rushed. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi insisted that Iran was not stalling over the package and would take "as long as is necessary" to study it.

He said at a news conference that the package includes "points which are acceptable. There are points which are ambiguous. There are points that should be strengthened, and points that we believe should not exist."

He did not give specifics.

Larijani said the offer of nuclear technology was a "positive point" but that "there are also points that are unclear, such as the uranium enrichment program."

"This has not been made clear yet to Iran, so these are things where the finishing touches must be made," he told reporters in Cairo after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa.

Larijani sharply denounced any threats of sanctions against Iran in connection with the package.

"We will not accept negotiations under pressure," he said.

He said the package, as presented to Iran, did not contain any threats of penalties.

The five permanent Security Council members and Germany are said to have worked out a set of possible sanctions if Iran rejects the proposal, but these were not mentioned when European Union envoy Javier Solana presented the package to Iran last week to maintain a positive atmosphere.

The United States accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies, saying its program seeks only to develop electricity.

But the package drops demands for an all-out scrapping of enrichment, instead asking Iran to suspend such activity during the duration of any negotiations.