Iran says atom deal possible only without threats

VIENNA, Sep 14: Iran urged world powers today to take up its call for talks without preconditions on its nuclear activity and condemned UN Security Council intervention as based on ''ridiculous ... political motivations''.

Aliasghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, spoke to the IAEA's 35-nation governing board after Washington accused Tehran of ''aggressively'' seeking atomic bombs under the guise of a civilian nuclear fuel project.

Diplomats said Iran tentatively offered to consider halting enrichment of uranium in talks with the European Union last weekend aimed at finding a basis for negotiations on an offer of trade incentives to Tehran to drop its programme.

But the United States, convinced Iran is playing for time, called during IAEA board debate on Wednesday for swift drafting of punitive sanctions against Iran in the Security Council this month.

Soltanieh told the board Iran was genuinely interested in a negotiated solution but Washington was trying to undermine the atmosphere for good-faith talks.

''If there is a political will on the other side, (our) response would be the basis on which one could pave the way for an immediate solution through dialogue and negotiation ... free from any threat, pressure or any precondition,'' he said.

He called on the Security Council to return Iran's nuclear dossier to the IAEA and urged six world powers to ''commence negotiations without any preconditions or further delay''.

A legally binding Security Council resolution sponsored by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China demands Iran halt enrichment work before negotiations to rebuild trust in its nuclear intentions.

Soltanieh accused the United States of trying to poison the ''positive environment'' for exploratory talks between Iran negotiator Ali Larijani and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana with ''baseless allegations'' of an Iranian bomb bid.

''The decision to refer Iran's nuclear dossier to the Security Council was based on ridiculous, non-technical political motivations and not as a result of diversion of nuclear materials to prohibited purposes,'' he said.

IAEA inspectors probing the nature and scope of Iran's nuclear programme since 2003 have found many indications of military involvement and past cover-ups of sensitive nuclear research, but no hard proof of an underground weapons project.

Mr Soltanieh reiterated Iran's position that its nuclear activity is entirely peaceful.

Reuters