Iran: Letter on nuclear program

New York Times: The Bush administration said Tuesday that Iran’s response to an offer of incentives by six world powers seeking to rein in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions was unacceptable, and American and European officials said their next step would be to go back to the United Nations Security Council to seek additional punitive sanctions.

The New York Times

By HELENE COOPER
Published: August 6, 2008

The Bush administration said Tuesday that Iran’s response to an offer of incentives by six world powers seeking to rein in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions was unacceptable, and American and European officials said their next step would be to go back to the United Nations Security Council to seek additional punitive sanctions.

In a short, two-paragraph letter sent by Iranian officials to the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, in Brussels on Tuesday, Iran said it was “ready to provide a ‘clear response’ ” to the recent proposal from the world powers, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The New York Times. But the letter also said that Iran was “simultaneously expecting to receive your ‘clear response’ to our questions and ambiguities as well.”

European and American diplomats have dismissed the Iranian proposal, which ignored the main six-power demand for curbing Iran’s enrichment of uranium and called for concessions from the other side. “As predicted, it basically says, ‘Yes, we will give you an answer, but when you give us an answer,’ ” a European diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity under normal diplomatic rules, said of the letter.

Iran said in the letter that “a speedy and transparent negotiating process with a bright prospect” was possible, but it made no commitments on even the temporary suspension of uranium enrichment that the United States and Europe have said they would accept.