Iran

Iran dampens hopes of new nuclear deal

Article published on the 2008-06-14 Latest update 2008-06-15 10:15 TU

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Tehran.
(Credit: Reuters)

Iran rejected a package of incentives offered by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana Saturday in Tehran hours after the economic and trade incentives were offered in exchange for Iran suspending uranium enrichment. Solana had been warned not to expect "miracles" in light of repeated statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Tehran would never back down.

If there is a demand for the suspension of enrichment, "it cannot be considered at all. If the issue of suspension is relied upon, the [nuclear] issue will not change," Iranian spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham told reporters.

The deal has yet to be examined thorougly, however. Iran has not decided whether it can accept the plan or not.

US President George W Bush addressed reporters in Paris after meeting with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy Saturday regarding the Iran nuclear issue, saying that he was "disappointed" over Iran's probable rejection of the offer.

"Much of my discussions on this trip have been dominated by this subject. The allies understand that a nuclear-armed Iran is incredibly destabilizing. And they undertand that it would be a major blow to world peace," said Bush. 

He called the response "an indication to the Iranian people that their leadership is willing to isolate them further."

Tehran has insisted both to Western powers and the UN-backed watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it is enriching uranium only for peaceful purposes. The enrichment process is one of the steps necessary to make nuclear weapons.