http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1092280017499&p=1078113566627Iranian officials, under pressure to freeze their nuclear program, have stunned European diplomats at crisis talks in Paris this month by demanding advanced nuclear technology, conventional weapons, and a security guarantee against a nuclear attack by Israel.
The diplomats – from Britain, France, and Germany – were meeting the Iranians in an attempt to defuse the escalating crisis over Teheran's nuclear program.
The Europeans were said to have been stunned by the move and, according to London's Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, the Iranians' demands had "gone down very badly" and had sharply raised the stakes.
The Iranians produced their letter as the European diplomats sought to convince them to honor an earlier agreement to suspend work on their controversial uranium enrichment program, which could be used to produce material for nuclear power stations – but also to make nuclear weapons.
According to the report, the Iranian officials refused point-blank to comply, saying they had every right under international law to pursue "peaceful" nuclear technology.
They then shocked the Europeans by turning the tables with their own set of demands, which were contained in the letter.
First, they demanded that the European trio support Iran's quest for "advanced [nuclear] technology, including those with dual use."
Second, they demanded that the Europeans "remove impediments" to Iran acquiring such technology, and remain committed to this position – even if faced with "legal [or] political... limitations," a reference to possible US pressure or future international sanctions against Iran.
Third, and considered even more astonishing, they demanded that the Europeans meet their conventional weapons needs and "provide security assurances" against a nuclear attack on Iran.
This is thought to refer to Israel's nuclear capabilities and its long-range delivery systems.
The European trio are reported to be still considering their response, but British officials were quoted as saying the Iranian letter was "extremely surprising, given the delicate state of the process."
It is considered likely that Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who is playing a leading role in Europe's "constructive dialogue" with Teheran, will now have to decide whether to move to a more confrontational policy.
The Europeans, whose engagement with Iran aims to draw the Islamic republic back into the international mainstream, were seeking to avoid a full-scale confrontation between the United States and Iran over Iran's nuclear program.
Washington is insisting that the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which meets next month, refers the Iranian nuclear issue to the UN Security Council, where Iran would face possible sanctions.
While the IAEA board is unlikely to give Iran a clean bill of health, a crucial report by IAEA director-general Mohamed ElBaradei is expected actually to boost the Iranian position and frustrate Washington's preference for following the security council route.
In his report to the IAEA board of governors, ElBaradei is expected to clear Iran of producing highly enriched uranium and declare that particles of this substance found by his inspectors at Iranian sites had, in fact, originated in material that was imported from Pakistan's rogue nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan.
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