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Tehran reiterates it will not accept `preconditions'

Iran said yesterday it would not accept any "preconditions" for fresh international talks over its nuclear program, implicitly rejecting demands that it suspend sensitive uranium enrichment work.

"Dialogue must be without preconditions, because any precondition limits the framework of the dialogue and does not allow results to be achieved," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran will not give up its rights. One cannot fix preconditions to hold negotiations without taking into account the position of the other party," he said.

A suspension of enrichment is a non-negotiable precondition in a proposal from the five permanent UN Security Council members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the US -- plus Germany.

The offer involves incentives and multilateral talks if Iran agrees to a temporarily halt the sensitive nuclear activity and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"If the Europeans act with logic and reason, the chances for a result are there. If the Europeans respect our rights, they will have greater credibility. It is about logic, and not dignity," Asefi said.

He did not explicitly mention enrichment, but Iranian officials invariably refer to the activity as a "right" enshrined by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki also refused to explicitly say if Iran would agree or refuse to suspend enrichment:"We have started to seriously examine the offer ... After examining it, we will give our response."

Western officials say they expect a response from Iran before the end of this month.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) meanwhile put fresh weight behind the offer.

"We believe the Iran nuclear issue needs to be resolved through diplomatic channels," Wen told reporters after meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo. We also believe that the six countries involved have already put on the table a quite good proposal."
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