Iran Defiant in Face of United US, EU Approach

Iran defiantly insisted on Saturday it would never give up its nuclear fuel program despite a new united policy of incentives and threats from Washington and the European Union. "The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to use peaceful nuclear technology and no pressure, intimidation or threat can make Iran give up its right," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said. Tehran says its nuclear facilities will only be used to generate electricity and never diverted to weapons production. The EU and Washington, which suspect Iran could use its nuclear power program to make atomic bombs, unveiled a coordinated carrot and stick approach Friday aimed at pressuring Tehran to give up sensitive activities like uranium enrichment which can be used to make bomb-grade fuel. Iran has frozen enrichment while it tries to reach a negotiated settlement about its nuclear program with the EU big three Britain, Germany and France. While the EU trio said they would back U.S. demands to send Iran's case to the U.N. Security Council if it resumed enrichment, Washington, in a policy shift, offered practical backing for the EU's diplomatic approach. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington would allow Iran to begin talks on joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) and would consider letting it buy civilian airline parts if it ceased all activities that could produce fuel for nuclear power plants or atomic weapons. WTO membership and aircraft spares are key incentives which the EU hopes will persuade Iran to scrap enrichment plans. The EU was unable to deliver these inducements without U.S. support. Iran dismissed the incentives as meaningless. Asefi said U.S. restrictions on the sale of aircraft spares to Iran should never have been imposed. [more]