NEWS,22.05.2012.

Deal on probe reached with Iran: UN

Despite some remaining differences, a deal has been reached with Iran that will allow the UN nuclear agency to restart a long-stalled probe into suspicions that Tehran has secretly worked on developing nuclear arms, the UN nuclear chief said on Tuesday.

 

The news from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano, who returned from Tehran on Tuesday, comes just a day before Iran and six world powers meet in Baghdad for negotiations and could present a significant turning point in the heated dispute over Iran's nuclear intentions. The six nations hope the talks will result in an agreement by the Islamic Republic to stop enriching uranium to a higher level that could be turned quickly into the fissile core of nuclear arms.Iran denies it seeks nuclear arms and says its reactors are only for power and medical applications.By compromising on the IAEA probe, Iranian negotiators in Baghdad could argue that the onus was now on the other side to show some flexibility and temper its demands. Although Amano's trip and the talks in Baghdad are formally separate, Iran hopes progress with the IAEA can boost its chances on Wednesday in pressing the US and Europe to roll back sanctions that have hit Iran's critical oil exports and blacklisted the country from international banking networks.Differences no obstacleIt was unclear, though, how far the results achieved by Amano would serve that purpose, with him returning without the two sides signing the deal, despite his upbeat comments.After talks in Tehran between Amano and chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, "the decision was made... to reach agreement" on the mechanics of giving the IAEA access to sites, scientists and documents it seeks to restart its probe", Amano told reporters at Vienna airport after his one-day trip to Tehran.Amano said differences existed on "some details", without elaborating but added that Jalili had assured him that these "will not be an obstacle to reach agreement". He spoke of "an almost clean text" that will be signed soon, although he could not say when.Western diplomats are sceptical of Iran's willingness to open past and present activities to full perusal, believing it would only reveal what they suspect and Tehran denies - that the Islamic Republic has researched and developed components of a nuclear weapons programme. They say that Tehran's readiness to honour any agreement it has signed is the true test of its willingness to co-operateThe United States is among those sceptics. In a statement released soon after Amano's announcement, Robert A Wood, America's chief delegate to the nuclear agency, said Washington appreciated Amano's efforts but remained "concerned by the urgent obligation for Iran to take concrete steps to co-operate fully with the verification efforts of the IAEA, based on IAEA verification practices".Good intentions"We urge Iran to take this opportunity to resolve all outstanding concerns about the nature of its nuclear programme," said the statement. "Full and transparent co-operation with the IAEA is the first logical step."German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also urged Iran to put professed good intentions into action."Enduring and substantial co-operation by Iran with the International Atomic Energy Agency to clear up the open questions surrounding the Iranian nuclear programme would be an important and at the same time overdue step in the right direction," he said in a statement.
On the Baghdad talks, "the aim is to make progress not just atmospherically but also on substance," he said, reflecting Western views that the feel-good effect achieved at a previous round in Istanbul last month must now be built upon with concrete steps aimed at reducing international concerns over Tehran's nuclear agenda.For the six powers - the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany - a main concern is Iran's production of uranium enriched to 20%, which is far higher than needed for regular energy-producing reactors but used for one Iran says it needs for medical research.The US and its allies fear the higher-enriched uranium could be quickly boosted to warhead-grade material.Israel against concessionsUS officials have said Washington will not backpedal from its stance that Iran must fully halt uranium enrichment. But speculation is increasing that the priorities have shifted to block the 20% enrichment and perhaps allow Iran to maintain lower-level nuclear fuel production - at least for now.Iranian officials could package such a scenario as a victory for their domestic audience. In Israel, it would likely be greeted with dismay and widen rifts between President Barack Obama's US administration and Israeli officials who keep open the threat of military action against Iran's nuclear sites.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned against concessions, saying world powers should make "clear and unequivocal demands" that Iran stop all of its nuclear enrichment activity.
"Iran wants to destroy Israel and it is developing nuclear weapons to fulfil that goal," Netanyahu said at a conference in Jerusalem. "Against this malicious intention, leading world powers need to display determination and not weakness. They should not make any concessions to Iran."Jalili, Iran's top nuclear negotiator who met with Amano and will also be the lead envoy at the Baghdad talks, said his country hopes for a new beginning when the talks start on Wednesday."We hope that the talks in Baghdad will be a kind of dialogue that will give shape to ... co-operation," Jalili said after arriving in Baghdad late on Monday.More inspections As part of any agreement, Amano and his agency are focused on getting Iran to let agency experts to probe various high-profile Iranian sites, including the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran, where the agency believes Iran in 2003 ran explosive tests needed to set off a nuclear charge. The suspected blasts took place inside a pressure chamber.
Iran has never said whether the chamber existed, but describes Parchin as a conventional military site. Iran, however, has blocked IAEA requests for access to sites, scientists and documents needed for its investigation for more than four years.Amano's talks included Jalili as well as Iran's foreign minister and other officials including the head of Iran's nuclear agency, Fereidoun Abbasi.Iranian lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahtpisheh saids on Monday that Tehran will likely accept more inspections of Parchin "if it feels there is good will within the [IAEA]".But Falahtpisheh warned that this new openness will likely come with expectations that the West would in return ease international sanctions on Iran.Flexibility"In opening up to more inspections, Iran aims at lowering the crisis over its nuclear case," he said. "But if the sanctions continue, Iran would stop this."A political analyst in Tehran, Hamid Reza Shokouhi, said Iran is carefully watching to see if the West shows more "flexibility and pays attention to Iranian demands" during Amano's trip."Then Iran will show flexibility, too," Shokouhi said.
But some Iranian media was critical of Amano and the IAEA, possibly reflecting internal divisions on how far to go compromise on nuclear issues.In a sign of ebbing market worries, oil prices have steadily fallen since Iran and world powers resumed talks in April in Istanbul. Fears of supply disruptions because of military conflict or Iranian shipping blockades helped drive prices above $106 a barrel earlier this year. Oil rose to slightly above $92 per barrel on Monday in New York.

NEWS,30.01.2012.

Iran will stop oil sales to 'some countries'

Iran has sent conflicting signals in a dispute with the West over its nuclear ambitions, vowing to stop oil exports soon to "some" countries but postponing a parliamentary debate on a proposed halt to such sales to the European Union. The Islamic Republic declared itself optimistic about a visit by UN nuclear experts that began today but also warned the inspectors to be "professional" or see Tehran reducing cooperation with the world body on atomic matters. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection delegation will seek to advance efforts to resolve a row about nuclear work which Iran says is for making electricity but the West suspects is aimed at seeking a nuclear weapon. Tensions with the West rose this month when Washington and the European Union (EU) imposed the toughest sanctions yet in a drive to force Tehran to provide more information on its nuclear programme. The measures take direct aim at the ability of OPEC's second biggest oil exporter to sell its crude. In a remark suggesting Iran would fight sanctions with sanctions, Iran's oil minister said the Islamic state would soon stop exporting crude to "some" countries. Rostam Qasemi did not identify the countries but was speaking less than a week after the EU's 27 member states agreed to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1."Soon we will cut exporting oil to some countries," the state news agency IRNA quoted Qasemi as saying. Iranian lawmakers had been due to debate a bill today that could have cut off oil supplies to the EU in days, in a move calculated to hit ailing European economies before the EU-wide ban on took effect. But Iranian MPs postponed discussing the measure."No such draft bill has yet been drawn up and nothing has been submitted to the parliament. What exists is a notion by the deputies which is being seriously pursued to bring it to a conclusive end," Emad Hosseini, spokesman for parliament's Energy Committee, told Mehr. Iranian officials say sanctions have had no impact on the country.” Iranian oil has its own market, even if we cut our exports to Europe," oil minister Qasemi said. Another lawmaker, Mohammad Karim Abedi, said the bill would oblige the government to cut Iran's oil supplies to the European Union for five to 15 years, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. By turning the sanctions back on the EU, lawmakers hope to deny the bloc a six-month window it had planned to give those of its members most dependent on Iranian oil - including some of the most economically fragile in southern Europe - to adapt. The Mehr news agency quoted Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi as saying during a trip to Ethiopia: "We are very optimistic about the outcome of the IAEA delegation's visit to Iran ... Their questions will be answered during this visit.” We have nothing to hide and Iran has no clandestine (nuclear) activities.” Striking a sterner tone, Iran's parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, warned the IAEA team to carry out a "logical, professional and technical" job or suffer the consequences.” This visit is a test for the IAEA. The route for further cooperation will be open if the team carries out its duties professionally," said Larijani, state media reported.” Otherwise, if the IAEA turns into a tool (for major powers to pressure Iran), then Iran will have no choice but to consider a new framework in its ties with the agency."Iran's parliament in the past has approved bills to oblige the government to review its level of cooperation with the IAEA. However, Iran's top officials have always underlined the importance of preserving ties with the watchdog body. Before departing from Vienna, IAEA Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts said he hoped the Islamic state would tackle the watchdog's concerns "regarding the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear programme”. The head of the state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said late on Saturday that the export embargo would hit European refiners, such as Italy's Eni, that are owed oil from Iran as part of long-standing buy-back contracts under which they take payment for past oilfield projects in crude.

"The European companies will have to abide by the provisions of the buyback contracts," Ahmad Qalebani told the ISNA news agency. "If they act otherwise, they will be the parties to incur the relevant losses and will subject the repatriation of their capital to problems.” Italy’s Eni is owed $1.7-1.8 billion in oil for contracts it executed in Iran in 2000 and 2001 and has been assured by EU policymakers its buyback contracts will not be part of the European embargo, but the prospect of Iran acting first may put that into doubt.Eni declined to comment today. The EU accounted for 25% of Iranian crude oil sales in the third quarter of 2011. However, analysts say the global oil market will not be overly disrupted if parliament votes for the bill that would turn off the oil tap for Europe. Potentially more disruptive to the world oil market and global security is the risk of Iran's standoff with the West escalating into military conflict.Iran has repeatedly said it could close the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane if sanctions succeed in preventing it from exporting crude, a move Washington said it would not tolerate. The IAEA's visit may be an opportunity to defuse some of the tension. Director General Yukiya Amano has called on Iran to show a "constructive spirit" and Tehran has said it is willing to discuss "any issues" of interest to the UN agency, including the military-linked concerns. But Western diplomats, who have often accused Iran of using such offers of dialogue as a stalling tactic while it presses ahead with its nuclear programme, say they doubt Tehran will show the kind of concrete cooperation the IAEA wants. They say Iran may offer limited concessions and transparency to try to ease intensifying international pressure, but that this is unlikely to amount to the full cooperation required. The outcome could determine whether Iran will face further isolation or whether there are prospects for resuming wider talks between Tehran and the major powers on the nuclear row. Salehi said Iran "soon" would write a letter to the EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to discuss "a date and venue" for fresh nuclear talks.” Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in this letter, which may be sent in the coming days, also may mention other issues as well," Salehi said, without elaborating. The last round of talks in January 2011 between Jalili and Ashton, who represents major powers, failed over Iran's refusal to halt its sensitive nuclear work."The talks will be successful as the other party seems interested in finding a way out of this deadlock," Salehi said.