Bush to talk incentives if Iran halts nuke moves

Washington, May 26: President George W. Bush said he would consider providing incentives to Iran if it agreed to resume a suspension on nuclear enrichment activities the United States believes is aimed at producing nuclear weapons.

Bush, at a White House news conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday, said the two leaders spent a lot of time discussing strategy on how to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis.

''The Iranians walked away from the table. They're the ones who made the decision, and the choice is theirs,'' he said. ''If they would like to see an enhanced package, the first thing they've got to do is suspend their operations, for the good of the world.'' Iran says it has a right to a nuclear program, and denies U S accusations it is trying to create an atomic bomb. It says it only wants to enrich uranium to a level suitable for use in atomic power reactors.

Bush said one of his goals with Blair has been ''to convince others in the world that Iran with a nuclear weapon would be very dangerous.'' ''And this fundamental question is how do you achieve that goal, obviously? We want to do it diplomatically,'' he added.

Major powers including the United States and Britain are working to agree on a package of incentives and sanctions intended to offer a stark choice that would persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Reuters