France Demands Iran Suspend Enrichment

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PARIS — France said Iran must suspend its uranium enrichment program before it makes further proposals on how to break a deadlock with America and other countries over its nuclear program.

Iran said earlier yesterday that French nuclear company Areva SA could oversee uranium enrichment in Iran to guarantee that it was intended for peaceful purposes.

Iran must first give an answer to an offer made by the five members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany that they enter into negotiations with Iran and suspend the threat of sanctions if it halts enrichment, a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, Jean-Baptiste Mattei, said.

“If the Iranians accept our offer of double suspension, then we can enter into negotiations, and each side will be free to make its proposals,” Mr. Mattei said at a regular briefing. He said Iran’s negotiator, Ali Larijani, should deal with the six through Javier Solana, who is the European Union foreign policy chief and designated envoy to Iran on the nuclear issue, not with individual countries.

“The channel we have is through talks between Solana and Larijani, and it’s through that channel that propositions should be made,” Mr. Mattei said.

The deputy head of Iran’s nuclear agency, Mohammad Saeedi, said in an interview with France Info radio that Iran’s proposal to break the deadlock was to have Areva oversee enrichment in Iran.

“We propose that France create a consortium for the production in Iran of enriched uranium,” he said. “France, through Eurodif and Areva, can monitor our activities in a tangible way.”

The station carried his interview in Farsi with a French voiceover. Mr. Mattei said French officials first heard of the offer in yesterday’s radio interview.

Areva said it wasn’t involved in any discussions about Iran. “We can’t comment on discussions in which we aren’t participating,” an Areva spokesman, Charles Hufnagel, said.

Erodif Production, a nuclear fuelprocessing company based in Pierrelatte, France, is 60% controlled by Paris-based Areva, the world’s largest maker of nuclear reactors. Iran has an indirect 10% stake in Eurodif resulting from a 1974 investment made by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Nuclear cooperation between France and Iran ended after the Shah was overthrown by the current religious regime in 1979.

Iran ignored an August 31 deadline set by the Security Council to freeze uranium enrichment or face the possibility of sanctions, prompting America to seek support for imposing penalties.

America alleges that the work is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. The Iranian government says the program is peaceful and intended for nuclear power stations.


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