[Mb-civic] Iran nuclear threat increases transatlantic friction

[Michael Butler]

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Iran nuclear threat increases transatlantic friction
>By Guy Dinmore in Washington, Daniel Dombey in Brussels and Gareth Smyth in
Tehran
>Published: May 3 2005 00:40 | Last updated: May 3 2005 00:40
>>

Iran's threat to resume nuclear enrichment-related activities has led to
more friction between the three European governments negotiating with Tehran
and the Bush administration, which refuses to join the talks, diplomats said
on Monday.

Nevertheless, the so-called EU3 of France, Germany and the UK are in broad
agreement with Washington that they would refer the crisis to the United
Nations Security Council if Iran renewed production of uranium hexafluoride
gas.

Negotiations between Iran and the EU3 stalled last Friday in London. On
Monday night, on the sidelines of a New York conference to review the
nuclear non-proliferation treaty, Joschka Fischer, Germany's foreign
minister, warned Kamal Kharrazi, his Iranian counterpart, of the
repercussions of a possible Iranian decision to end its agreed freeze of
enrichment-related activities.

But policy differences between the US and the EU3 emerged over the weekend
in Washington. Senior European diplomats expressed their frustration to US
officials over Washington's refusal to take part in the negotiations with
Iran, saying they could make no headway.

One US official said the Bush administration was concerned that the EU would
not live up to its tough rhetoric and tackle Iran at the UN.

It is not clear if the western powers will seek to refer Iran immediately if
the nuclear freeze is abandoned or wait several months until a new Iranian
president is in place.

At present the Europeans are reluctant to force the issue to a crisis, just
weeks before Iranian presidential elections scheduled for June 17.

Iran has always insisted that its nuclear programme is wholly peaceful.
Production of the gas yields the feedstock that can then be fed through
centrifuges to give enriched uranium for use in reactors, or possibly for a
nuclear bomb.

Western governments demand that Iran cease and dismantle its nuclear fuel
cycle programme. Iran has refused.

On Friday the EU refused to discuss Tehran's proposals to retain a small
number of centrifuges under the supervision of the International Atomic
Energy Agency. No new formal talks between the two sides have been
scheduled.

Frustrated with a lack of progress and what itsees as a deliberate EU
attempt to string out the talks, Iran has threatened to resume nuclear
activities this week.

EU officials are not convinced the threat is genuine and see it as another
attempt to bring the US into the process. A source close to the
administration said it was possible Iran would resume gas production this
week.

The EU agreed in March that it would respond to such a move by backing
referral of the case to the Security Council. In exchange the US, for the
first time, extended limited incentives to Iran, including the sale of
aircraft parts and allowing discussion of Iran's bid to start accession
talks at the World Trade Organisation.

A European diplomat in Iran said it would not be ³helpful² for the nuclear
talks to become an election issue in the country. He suggested the EU needed
to bear in mind the domestic pressures Iranian negotiators faced.

But Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has vehemently rejected
any link between the country's elections and the nuclear talks.

In a speech in Kerman on Sunday he denounced ³spokesmen of the Arrogance²
for saying ³they would like to talk to Iran about the nuclear issue after
thepresidential election², and warned that the electionwas ³nothing to do
withthem².

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