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Europeans ready to refer Iran to U.N. over nuclear program

BERLIN - European foreign ministers said Thursday that nuclear talks with Iran had reached a dead end after more than two years of acrimonious negotiations and that the issue should be referred to the U.N. Security Council.

The top diplomats from France, Germany and Britain, however, held back from calling for the 15-nation council to impose sanctions and said they remained open to more talks.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also said a "strong message" had to be sent to Tehran but said she was not ready to talk about what action should be taken to curtail Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, told U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan that Tehran was interested in resuming "serious and constructive negotiations" with the Europeans but this time wanted a deadline.

Also Thursday, in an interview with CNN, Larijani said Iran wants to reach agreement with Europe and Russia but "the question of our research is nonnegotiable."

He also said that an offer to enrich uranium on Russian territory and then ship it back to Iran to fuel nuclear power stations "would be a good basis for negotiations."

Senior Iranian negotiator Java Avid, meanwhile, said the Europeans should step back from referring his country to the Security Council, warning it would not change Iran's behavior but would lead to a tough response.

The statements came two days after Iran broke U.N. seals at a uranium enrichment plant and said it was resuming nuclear research after a two-year freeze. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, while the United States and others say it is aimed at producing weapons.

Negotiations aimed at getting Iran to permanently abandon uranium enrichment had reached an impasse, the Europeans said, citing what they called a "documented record of concealment and deception." Enriched uranium can be used for fuel or, at high levels of enrichment, weapons.

In a joint statement, the ministers called for a special session of the International Atomic Energy Agency to decide on referral to the Security Council, which could impose sanctions.

"From our point of view, the time has come for the U.N. Security Council to become involved," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after meeting with his French and British counterparts and the European Union's foreign policy chief.

In the interview with CNN, Larijani rejected that Iran was being deceptive, saying its nuclear research was being done on a "small scale" and under the supervision of IAEA inspectors. "There is nothing secret about it," he said.

Key to efforts to take action against Iran are Russia and China, traditional allies with Tehran who hold veto power in the Security Council and could thwart efforts to punish the Islamic republic.

Moscow and Beijing have opposed taking the issue to the Security Council but are showing increasing impatience with Tehran.

They are to discuss the issue in London next week with the United States and the European Union.

[Last modified January 13, 2006, 01:47:08]