EU's Solana due in Iran late today: Sources

Tehran, Jun 5: European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana is due in Tehran late today to deliver a package of incentives that seek to persuade Iran to abandon its plans to make nuclear fuel, Iranian sources said.

One of the sources, who all asked not to be identified, said Solana would meet Iranian officials tomorrow. An EU diplomat also said Solana would be in Iran tomorrow but gave no further details.

The incentives stem from an initiative put together by the three biggest EU states, Britain, France and Germany and were approved by a forum that also included the United States, China and Russia.

Solana's office in Brussels said it was preparing an announcement about the details of the trip but for now could not be more precise about the timing.

His spokeswoman previously said Solana would visit to present the package, which also includes penalties if Iran chooses to continue its nuclear fuel work, but not to negotiate.

Details of the package have not been announced, but diplomats have been working on themes ranging from offering nuclear reactor technology to giving security guarantees.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday Iran would consider incentives but insisted the crux of the package, that Iran must give up uranium enrichment, was still unacceptable.

Western nations fear Iran is enriching uranium to make an atomic bomb, but Iran insists its aims are entirely peaceful and that it wants to make fuel only to generate electricity.

REUTERS