Iran Tells EU Next Atom Talks Must Be Without Pressure

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran’s nuclear negotiator has said the next talks with world powers must be held without pressure, which analysts said indicated Tehran would stick to its refusal to address its uranium enrichment drive.

The Iranian position was set out in a response to a letter sent by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton three months ago as western states try to get Iran to commit to new talks.

Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, in his letter to Ashton, underlined that the next talks should be “just” and “refrain from resorting to pressure instruments.”

Analysts said such references were Iranian code meaning there could be no discussions of enrichment, which Tehran sees as its sovereign right. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said again on Monday that Iran would not give ground on enrichment.

The United States and its allies suspect Iran is trying to develop atomic bombs under the cover of its declared civilian nuclear energy program. Tehran says it needs nuclear power only to meet booming domestic demand for electricity.

Negotiations in Istanbul in January failed after Tehran again rejected any notion of suspending enrichment in exchange for trade and technology benefits, as called for by several U.N. Security Council resolutions passed since 2006.

After talks with Ashton in February, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said he hoped there would be further meetings with the “P-5+1,” the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain — plus Germany.

No date has yet been set.

GOING IN CIRCLES

Alluding to Jalili’s letter, an EU source said: “At this stage, there’s basically a risk that we’re going to end up going round in circles — we’re not making much progress.”

In his letter dated May 8, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Jalili said: “We welcome your (Ashton) return to the path of dialogue… Respecting nations’ rights and avoiding use of pressure are the two main pillars of cooperation,”

Iranian state television said on Tuesday the letter had been handed over to the EU in Vienna.

The six powers may be unwilling to rush back to talks without any prospect of agreement, especially since many Western diplomats say it is in Iran’s interests to drag out talks while it increases its stockpile of enriched uranium.

Moreover, Jalili’s letter reiterated Iran’s wish to discuss broader economic and security issues, which Western powers say are irrelevant to the core international concern about the nature of Iran’s enrichment program.

He said talks should cover, for example, “the root causes of terrorism, drug trafficking, piracy in the high seas, enhanced cooperation on energy supply and security,” as well as nuclear disarmament, a reference to big powers’ arsenals.

U.S., FRANCE SKEPTICAL

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the P5+1 was studying Jalili’s letter and possible next steps but stressed the group’s view that Iran must seriously discuss its nuclear program in any fresh talks.

“We believe that Iran needs to come ready for serious discussions if they take place,” Toner told reporters, adding he believed the Iranian letter was proposing new talks.

In Paris, the French Foreign Ministry called on Tehran to respond constructively to Ashton.

Iran restricts U.N. inspections of its atomic sites and concealed sensitive enrichment-related activity in the past.

In March, the six world powers said “the door remains open” for dialogue but made clear Tehran must engage in good-faith negotiations to solve the eight-year dispute.

The same month, U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Yukiya Amano said that information his office had recently received added to concerns about possible military aspects to Iran’s activities.

Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium is continuously growing, officials say, despite technical problems, toughened international sanctions and problems caused by a computer worm that disrupted some of its facilities.