The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany met the top Iranian negotiator in Geneva on Wednesday in a final bid to stop Iran pressing ahead with plans to resume its uranium-conversion activities.
Iranian negotiators, who were involved in a preparatory work with officials from the three European Union countries in Brussels on Tuesday, warned that the meeting was heading for deadlock amid plans to reopen a nuclear plant in central Iran.
”The talks between [Iranian and European] experts have been difficult and complicated; they haven’t been promising and if they go on like this, the risk of a deadlock in the negotiations on Wednesday is high,” said Ali Agha Mohammadi, one of the Iranian negotiators in Geneva.
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said in Tehran that the ministerial meeting is likely to be ”final” in deciding whether the negotiating process with the EU-3 will end or continue.
”The negotiations are so far not entirely satisfactory, but I don’t think they have been negative either,” Khatami said.
Iran’s chief negotiator, Hassan Rowhani, said on Wednesday: ”This meeting is the last chance to see if we can continue the negotiations with the Europeans … otherwise we will choose another way.”
The 25-nation EU has warned that it could refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council — and expose Tehran to direct pressure from Washington — if the talks fail, amid suspicions that Iran wants to build nuclear bombs.
Luxembourg’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean Asselborn, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, said ”everything must be done” to stop Iran from gaining nuclear weapons.
”We really want to cooperate with Iran,” Asselborn said in Sweden, while insisting that if Tehran violates an agreement to suspend uranium enrichment, ”there would be consequences, one of which could be a total halt on all discussions”.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana joined Britain’s Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Michel Barnier, their German counterpart Joschka Fischer and Rowhani at an Iranian diplomatic residence in a leafy Geneva suburb.
The EU has been offering possible trade and other benefits to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear plans.
The so-called EU-3, representing the full 25-member EU, called the talks after Tehran repeatedly signalled it would resume key nuclear activities, including an uranium-enrichment capability.
That would be in breach of an accord to suspend enrichment ”temporarily”, which was reached in Paris last November.
”The chances of deadlock depend entirely on what the Iranians say about their intention to abide by the Paris agreement,” a spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign Office said.
Enriched uranium can be used both for civil or military purposes, depending on the level of enrichment. Tehran insists that its nuclear programme is only meant to provide an alternative source of energy.
Iranian negotiators are adamant they want to resume activities at a nuclear plant in Isfahan, central Iran.
”We will inform the Europeans of our decision; we have to see if we can reach an agreement during these negotiations,” Rowhani said.
”If that’s not the case, we will apply what was decided,” he added.
Another Iranian negotiator, Cyrus Nasseri, said a resumption in Isfahan is ”the only solution to allow a suspension to continue in other parts”.
Isfahan is a uranium-conversion plant, a precursor stage in enrichment.
The United States, which has adopted a tougher stance, has nonetheless backed the European diplomatic thrust.
Tehran is proposing that some of the more sensitive enrichment work on nuclear fuel from Iran could be conducted in Russia, Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kamal Kharazi, said.
According to the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Tehran would pledge not to acquire nuclear arms and would authorise the permanent presence of international inspectors.
The Iranians also want the EU to help them build nuclear reactors, and to guarantee them supplies of nuclear fuel for future reactors. — Sapa-AFP