Iran talks openly of 'compromise' over nuclear stand-off

Published on Wednesday 2 July 2008 22:27

IRAN has raised hopes of securing a negotiated settlement to end the crisis over its nuclear programme, which has helped drive oil prices to record highs.

In a remarkably conciliatory new tone from Tehran, influential hardliners issued a series of favourable statements about a package of incentives offered by six major world powers.

"We see the possibility of arriving at a multi-faceted solution," Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran's foreign minister, told a news conference at the United Nations in New York. Ali Akbar Velayati, a leading adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, also insisted a "compromise" could be found.

The shape of a possible face-saving deal that would enable full negotiations to begin is becoming clearer. A report on Fararu, an unofficial Iranian news agency close to influential opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Tehran might be willing to limit uranium enrichment for six weeks to pave the way for fully-fledged negotiations.

The report has not been officially confirmed but is being taken seriously by analysts. The so-called "freeze for freeze" mechanism, similar to a "time-out" suggestion made in January by Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is regarded as face-saving mechanism for both sides.

Iran is understood to want the six-week deadline extended because setting an agenda for formal talks could take much longer. Tehran would feel it had lost face if it curbed its nuclear programme before any negotiations start.

The Foreign Office confirmed last night the major world powers would refrain from any further action against Tehran at the UN Security Council if Iran desisted from any new nuclear activity, including the installation of more centrifuges for uranium enrichment. This was part of an incentive package offered to Iran last month by the US, Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany.