EU agrees to last-ditch nuclear talks with Iran

VIENNA (AFP) - Britain, France and Germany have agreed to a last-minute request by Tehran for ministerial talks Friday ahead of possible UN action over Western fears that

Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons.

But there seemed to be little room for compromise, with Iran insisting on its right to enrich uranium and the

European Union and the United States saying Tehran must give up this process, which makes nuclear reactor fuel but also atom bomb material.

The European trio which negotiates for the EU on Iran has warned Tehran in writing that progress Friday is totally dependent on Iran stopping uranium enrichment and cooperating with UN nuclear inspections.

"Anything short of this would result in a public disagreement, which would set back our shared objectives," said a letter from the trio's foreign ministers, as well as European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, that was obtained by AFP.

The letter, which a diplomat said was delivered Tuesday to Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, sets "out in advance some of the considerations that will be critical for success," the text said.

"In our judgement, for such a meeting to be productive, we would need to conclude with a clear public commitment from Iran to return immediately to the status quo ante," the letter said, referring to Iran's agreement to suspend uranium enrichment.

Larijani requested the meeting but has given no specifics on what he seeks, one diplomat told AFP.

A European official said the EU countries, which fear Iran may be hiding secret development of atomic weapons, were "not particularly optimistic about the outcome of the meeting."

And the United States gave only halfhearted support to the talks, with State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli saying Washington was "under no illusions".

"As we have throughout this process, we're supportive of the EU-3 -- I think we're working well together," he said. "Let's see what happens on Friday."

"But the baseline is the same. Is Iran going to suspend enrichment activity? Is Iran going to return to the negotiations? Or is Iran going to continue, as we think they have, to stall and prevaricate and extend things in a meaningless way in order to avoid censure?"

But an Iranian diplomat told AFP there "could be a breakthrough if things go well" and that the meeting "could be a good opportunity to reach a general understanding that could defuse the situation."

The talks come ahead of a crunch meeting March 6 of the

United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA is to make an assessment of Iran's nuclear program that will be sent to the UN Security Council, which could then take punitive action.

Larijani, speaking from Moscow after talks there, confirmed that he planned to meet EU representatives but gave no date.

The Moscow talks produced no agreement on a Russian compromise proposal to enrich uranium for Iran on Russian soil -- a move designed to assuage international concerns over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

The IAEA's board of governors on February 4 reported Iran to the UN Security Council but left a month open for diplomacy before the world body decides what measures, if any, to take against Tehran.

Unlike the IAEA, the Security Council has enforcement powers and it could impose sanctions. But it is expected first merely to urge Iran to cooperate with the nuclear agency.

The IAEA has urged Iran to suspend uranium enrichment as a confidence-building measure.

But the Islamic republic on February 15 fed a 10-centrifuge research cascade at a facility in Natanz with the uranium gas that is processed into enriched uranium, IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei said in a report earlier this week.

Iran's insistence on carrying out enrichment, for which it started making the feedstock gas in August 2005, has torpedoed talks with the EU-3.

Those talks were aimed at giving Iran trade and security benefits in return for guarantees it is not seeking to acquire atomic weapons. Tehran claims its nuclear program is a peaceful effort to generate electricity.