EU3 to offer Iran help with nuclear power

The Financial Times:

By Christopher Adams and Roula Khalaf in London and Neil Buckley in MoscowPublished: July 14 2005 19:36 Last updated: July 14 2005 19:36

The UK, France and Germany, the so-called EU3, are expected to offer Tehran co-operation with its civilian nuclear power programme and help in reducing its dependency on fuel imports from Russia if it agrees to end its attempts to produce its own nuclear fuel.

The offer will be part of a crucial incentives package to be put to Iran during the summer. The reaction from Tehran will determine whet­her negotiations continue or the Iranian nuclear dispute is referred to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions.

Iran has insisted that it would not abandon its fuel cycle – the mastering of the technology for the production of nuclear fuel that can be used in civilian reactors or bombs – though Tehran insists its intentions are peaceful. It wants to maintain at least a small-scale uranium-enrichment programme, which is crucial in the pursuit of the fuel cycle. This attitude is likely only to harden with last month’s election of Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, an ultra-conservative, as president.

The UK, France and Germany, which have been leading efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear programme, agreed to make a detailed offer to Tehran by the end of July. But that deadline is looking unlikely to be met because Iran’s president will be forming his new government in August and could make changes in the nuclear negotiating team.

Hassan Rowhani, the top Iranian negotiator, is believed to have offered his resignation; whether it will be accepted is uncertain.

At the centre of the European Union’s plans is an offer to help Iran develop nuclear power stations and to provide an alternative source to Russia for fuel supply – in return for stopping nuclear fuel production in Iran itself.

Iran’s first $800m (€662m, £455m) nuclear reactor – it has said it wants many more – at Bushehr is being developed in co-operation with Russia. Their agreement allows for the construction of up to five reactors.

The offer of guaranteed nuclear fuel supply would involve partners other than Russia, probably EU countries themselves. One EU diplomat stressed, however, that nothing had been offered yet, even informally. The diplomat added: “We would be able to change our position towards their nuc­lear civil programme. It would be in our interests to make that safe and economically viable.” // Alexander Rumyantsev, the head of Russia’s federal agency for nuclear power (Rosatom), said yesterday Russia was “comfortable” with the idea of other countries supplying nuclear technology and fuel to Iran. He said Russia could not single-handedly fulfil Iran’s nuclear power ambitions, which included plans to build up to 20 reactors. “The Iranian market is so big in terms of demand,” he said. “That means France should also take part, the UK, Korea, Japan – all those who know how to build nuclear power stations.” He added that, unlike the US, Russia was convinced that Iran’s nuclear ambitions were peaceful. The International Atomic Energy Agency is examining the viability of a wider supply scheme, not just for Iran but for other countries that might be seeking to reduce their dependency on oil. Iran is believed to want to reduce its dependency on Russia for fuel and could welcome the offer of alternative supplies. The EU, though, would need the support of Moscow, which has ample supplies of uranium and would want to protect its commercial ties. But European diplomats are still adamantly opposed to Tehran’s key demand: to retain even a symbolic uranium-enrichment facility. Iran agreed to suspend uranium–enrichment activities only while the negotiations with the EU3 continue. This week Mr Ahmadi-Nejad pledged “new measures” in Iran’s approach to the nuclear crisis, although details were not available.