Envoy: Tehran Open to Nuclear Compromise

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani arrives for a meeting with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, at Vienna's International Center, Friday, June 22, 2007. (AP Photo/Hans Punz) (Hans Punz - AP)

VIENNA, Austria -- Key U.S. allies are debating the idea of a nuclear compromise with Iran that would call for only a partial freeze of Tehran's uranium enrichment program _ a stance that could put them at odds with Washington, officials said Friday.

The officials _ U.S. and European diplomats and government employees _ told The Associated Press that the deliberations among senior British, French and German decision-makers were only preliminary and that no conclusions had been drawn.

Germany was supportive, France opposed and Britain noncommittal, they said.

"Nothing is on paper," said one European diplomat, describing the tentative plan as a "freeze for peace."

With the United States continuing to insist on a full enrichment freeze, the talks could strain the U.S.-led attempt to show unity on the issue or even push Washington to settle for less than it has been demanding.

For the European allies, a compromise would placate important European Union members Italy and Spain and some smaller countries looking for more flexibility in dealing with Iran.

An American official said "there is some truth" to the reports of the discussions among the British, French and Germans. "We're still very skittish on that," the official said.

The U.S. has allied with Britain, France and Germany in a four-year campaign to contain what they fear are Iranian ambitions to develop nuclear weapons.

Backed by U.N. Security Council resolutions, they demanded Tehran abandon uranium enrichment, a process that can provide material for nuclear warheads. Iran insists it wants only to produce fuel for nuclear reactors that would generate electricity.

The United States' support from permanent Security Council members Britain and France, in particular, has been key. The council has passed two sets of sanctions in the last half year against Iran in reaction to Tehran's rejection of council demands for an enrichment freeze.

With permanent members Russia and China only reluctantly backing sanctions and only in weakened form, the loss of European support would leave Washington with the hard choice of either backing away from its insistence on a full enrichment freeze or being isolated.

The officials spoke amid signs Tehran might be leaning toward concessions, perhaps as a way to weaken the international pressure. The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said the Islamic Republic had agreed to provide him with answers on past suspicious atomic activities within two months.