US: Iran nuclear response falls short

The Bush administration says a proposal by Iran for nuclear negotiations falls short of UN demands that it cease uranium enrichment as the US began plotting unspecified “next moves” with other governments.

At the same time, Iran contended it had offered “positive and clear signals” to resolve the dispute over its nuclear programme.

Efforts by the US and other nations could lead to UN sanctions against Iran unless it reverses course and agrees to a verifiable halt to enrichment activities that can be central to making nuclear weapons.

France took a firm and quick stand on Iran’s proposal. Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said the Iranians must suspend uranium enrichment if they want to return to negotiations.

However, Russia’s foreign ministry, evidently ambivalent, said it would continue to seek a negotiated solution. China appealed for dialogue, urging “constructive measures” by Iran and patience from the US and its allies.

The State Department, in a terse statement, acknowledged that Iran considered its proposal to be a serious one. “We will review it,” the statement said in what appeared to be a conciliatory gesture to a government it regularly denounces as a sponsor of terror.

However, the statement went on to say that Iran’s response to a joint offer of US, and European trade and other benefits if the enrichment programme was halted “falls short of the conditions set by the Security Council” – full and verifiable suspension of all uranium-enrichment activity.

“We are consulting closely, including with other members of the Security Council, on next steps,” it said. The United Nations has set a deadline of next Thursday for a formal reply by Tehran.

President George Bush met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the White House and then discussed Iran’s proposal in a telephone call with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The call was initiated by Annan, said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

The administration has cautioned Iran that it will seek sanctions in the Security Council if Tehran does not stop enriching uranium.

Administration officials have refrained from outlining what punishment they might have in mind. It could include economic or political penalties, perhaps international curbs on trade.

Rice, meanwhile, telephoned Javier Solana, the senior European Union diplomat who oversees exchanges with Iran. No account of their conversation, nor of her meeting with the president, was provided.

By not rejecting Iran’s proposal outright, the administration indicated there may be a basis for dealing with long-held concerns that Tehran is developing nuclear weapons, an allegation the Iranians deny.

“The diplomats are continuing to look at it,” Perino said. “We’re working with our allies.”

The Iranians’ offer, which they portrayed as a major advance, appeared to be aimed at least in part at dividing the Security Council members with vetoes - the US, Britain and France on one side and Russia and China on the other.

Analyst Ilan Berman, vice president for policy at the American Foreign Policy Council, said sanctions can work because Iran’s economy is vulnerable on several levels.

“But the UN approach is going to be tailored to be palatable to the Russians and the Chinese,” he said.

“The problem is we are facing diminishing options, and military action has to figure in there somewhere if all else fails,” Berman said.

Patrick Clawson, deputy director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the Bush administration may seek restrictions on providing Iran with dual-use technology – material that could be put to military use.

Clawson said that could give the United States and its allies leverage to pressure companies not to trade with Iran.

Iran met its self-imposed deadline on Tuesday for responding to the US-European offer, which includes the possibility of US help for civilian nuclear programmes – but only if Iran stops uranium enrichment.

In Congress, meanwhile, the House Intelligence Committee issued a report that concluded Iran was a strategic threat and a country focused on developing nuclear weapons capability. It also linked Iran to Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist groups.

The committee’s chairman, Republican Congressman Peter Hoekstr said: “Iran’s support of radical Islamists with weapons and money demonstrates in real terms the danger it poses to America and our allies,” He said Iran “will not be satisfied until it poses a threat to the entire world”.

The report also said there were gaps in the ability of US intelligence agencies to keep up with developments in Iran’s nuclear programme and suggested hiring more intelligence agents who spoke Farsi.