Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki expressed hope on
Tuesday that Europe's latest proposal aimed to resolve the standoff
over Iran's nuclear program would be comprehensive and balanced,
the official IRNA news agency reported.
"We hope the offer will preserve the rights of the Islamic
Republic of Iran as well as remove the concerns of other states,"
Mottaki was quoted as saying.
"We are seriously calling for a diplomatic solution to our
nuclear case through negotiation and within the framework of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with the objective of
removing concerns as well as observing the rights of Iran," he
added.
In an effort to persuade Iran to halt its fuel cycle work, the
European trio of Britain, France and Germany are planning to offer
Tehran a package of incentives in the trade, technology and
security fields and penalties.
But Washington has ruled out providing security guarantees to
Iran as part of the EU package, saying that security assurances are
not on the table.
The European proposals are to be discussed at a meeting in
London on Wednesday by the five permanent members of the UN
Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United
States -- along with Germany.
However, Mottaki said that Iran still had not received a formal
offer from Europe although the content of it had been disclosed to
the media for a while.
"If we receive Europe's formal offer, we will discuss it and
announce our decisions," Mottaki said.
The foreign minister also reiterated, "Iran will never renounce
its nuclear rights under whatever circumstances."
Washington has accused Iran of secretly developing nuclear
weapons under a civilian front, a charge categorically denied by
Tehran which insists that its nuclear program is fully
peaceful.
(Xinhua News Agency May 24, 2006)
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