EU, Iran close to deal for Iran nuclear talks

Washington, Sept 26: Iran is close to a deal that would include a temporary suspension of uranium enrichment and clear the way for nuclear talks but Tehran wants to keep the agreement secret, The Washington Times reported today.

The deal could be completed either today or tomorrow when EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani are set to meet in Europe, the report said, citing Bush administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Washington Times said under the agreement Iran would halt uranium enrichment for 90 days so additional talks could be held with several European nations.

Solana and Larijani had been expected to meet before but two meetings scheduled this month were postponed.

Asked about Iran's secrecy demand, State Department spokesman Tom Casey told the newspaper: ''The terms laid out by the Security Council are clear. Iran needs to suspend its uranium enrichment activities and it needs to do so in a verifiable way.

''If it does, we can start negotiations. If it doesn't, we move to sanctions,'' Casey said.

The United States, France, Russia, China, Britain and Germany offered Iran a package of incentives in June aimed at persuading Tehran to abandon technology that could be used to make a nuclear weapon.

Iran says its nuclear program is for electricity generation and has, so far, ignored an August 31 UN Security Council deadline to suspend enrichment.

Suspending uranium enrichment, a process of purifying uranium for use as fuel in nuclear power plants or atomic weapons, is a precondition for talks on the incentives offered by the Western powers.

REUTERS

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