EUROPE BIG THREE’S LAST EFFORT TO SAVE IRAN FROM SANCTIONS


TEHRAN 20 Oct. (IPS) British, French and German foreign ministers are due in Tehran tomorrow 21 October in an unprecedented joint effort to persuade the Islamic Republic to open up all its nuclear sites and programs to international inspectors, just ten days before the deadline fixed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

On its 12 September meeting, members of the Vienna-based IAEA Board of Directors gave Iran until the end of October to sign the Additional Protocols to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and stop “at once” all its activities for enriching uranium, a vital process in the making of nuclear bomb.

The Protocols would allow international nuclear inspectors and technicians to travel to Iran at will and visit all the country’s nuclear-related sites without any restriction and have access to all atomic projects.

So far, Iranian clerical-led government has refused to bow and on Sunday, Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Khatami repeated again that while Iran is ready to “cooperate” with IAEA, yet it would not stop its uranium enriching programs.

Iranians insist that the nuclear powered projects they have under way, like the electricity plant at the Persian Gulf of Booshehr that is under construction with the help of Russia are strictly for civilian use.

But the United States and Israel, now joined by some major European nations are not that sure and believe that projects like Booshehr are “fronts” for concealing the build up of a nuclear arsenal.

What has reinforced their concern is the discovery of tow uranium enriching facilities that have been kept secret from the IAEA.

The Iranians say they were not under any obligation to declare these sites to United Nations nuclear inspectors when they bought second hand centrifuges for enriching uranium.

The joint ministerial by France, Britain and Germany follows the one concluded by Dr. Mohammad el-Bradeh’i, the General Director of the Agency who, before leaving Tehran last week, expressed cautious optimism about reaching a compromise with Iranian ruling ayatollahs on the issue of Iranian suspect nuclear activities.

"We found a mutual understanding", the French news agency AFP quoted Monday Dr Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, after what he described as two days of "intensive negotiations" with IAEA experts.

“Iran has now has a more positive stance towards signing the Protocols”, AFP quoted Salehi as having said, adding it was now up to the Iranian leadership to make a final decision on the issue.

But in a statement made three weeks ago, Mr. El-Bradeh’i warned the Iranians that IAEA’ main concern now was the uranium enriching programs and not the signing the Protocols.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi reiterated Sunday that Iran does not acknowledge the deadline, but added that progress had been achieved during el-Bradehh’i visit to Tehran.

Diplomats say the European Union’ s big three have for months been engaged in an effort to convince Iran to fully comply with IAEA demands, and say they were unlikely to make such an unprecedented joint visit unless they were certain of some success in ending the current crisis.

The initiative for sending their foreign affairs ministers to Iran was taken a month ago by President Jacques Chirac of France, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of Germany and British Prime Minister Tony Blair in a letter to their Iranian counterpart Mohammad Khatami, telling him openly that if the Islamic Republic fails to satisfy IAEA, it could face harsh international sanctions.

In the letter, the three leaders offered Iran also a carrot, suggesting that in return for its compliance, it would get nuclear technical assistance and possibly supplies of nuclear fuel for its atomic reactors.

While the German foreign ministry said the three would "make clear" concern over Iran's nuclear programme, the French set the tone of high expectations by noting "the Iranian authorities now seem prepared to announce a certain number of confidence-building measures aimed at the international community".

In London, British Foreign Affairs Minister Jack Straw said in a statement: "Resolving the doubts surrounding Iran's nuclear programme is of grave concern to the European Union and wider international community.

"We will be impressing upon the Iranian authorities the urgent need for compliance with all of the requirements of the resolution passed on September 12 by the board of governors of the IAEA".

Straw has made no less than five visits to Iran in just two years, de Villepin visited earlier this year and Fischer was in Iran in 2000.

Salehi said Iran would also satisfy the IAEA's demands for answers to a number of "outstanding issues" -- in other words serious questions sparked by the discovery here of highly enriched uranium by IAEA inspectors.

Iranian officials said the foreign ministers would be meeting with President Khatami.

IAEA legal experts ended two days of talks with Iranian officials on Sunday, Tehran radio reported. The team had arrived Saturday to discuss an additional protocol to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty that would allow more intrusive inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities. ENDS IAEA IRAN 201003