Word: uranium
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...have been soothed by the fact that Iranian and European leaders are now actively pursuing a compromise aimed at defusing the crisis over Tehran's nuclear program. And the U.S., which began lobbying for sanctions when Iran failed to heed the U.N. Security Council demand that it cease enriching uranium by August 31, may have little choice but to give European diplomacy more time. Even key European allies have little appetite for a confrontation beginning with sanctions - particularly while Iran is offering a diplomatic alternative, however imperfect, for pursuing the same goals...
...Tehran has responded to the West's deadline and incentive package with a counter-offer, which reportedly includes offering to negotiate a temporary suspension of uranium enrichment as a confidence-building measure. Negotiations over sanctions are on hold while talks continue between the Europeans and Tehran. And while remaining officially committed to sanctions, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has indicated that once the Iranians have implemented a temporary suspension of uranium enrichment, the U.S. would join the Europeans in talks with Iran...
...immediate problem is a case study in diplomatic hairsplitting. Iran is not currently offering to suspend enrichment before talks begin, as the U.S. and Europe have demanded. In its formal response to the U.S.-backed incentive package offering economic rewards for ending uranium enrichment, Iran rejected the principle that it suspend enrichment as a precondition for negotiation. Instead, the Iranians appear to be offering the possibility of suspending enrichment for a defined period in the course of negotiations - a position reiterated last weekend in talks between Tehran's top negotiator, Ali Larijani, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana...
...Although Tehran has offered less than the West had demanded, it is making a smart calculation that the Europeans will resist heading down the path of confrontation as long as Iran is willing to offer a credible mechanism for addressing Western concerns over its uranium enrichment...
...trip to the US, the first of such a high-ranking official since Washington cut ties with Iran in the aftermath of the 1979 hostage crisis, comes as the United States is seeking punitive action against Iran for failing to meet a United Nations deadline on suspending its uranium enrichment program...