Rumsfeld: US Hopes For Positive Iran Answer To Proposals June 3, 2006
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SINGAPORE (AP)–U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Saturday that the U.S. is hoping for a positive Iranian response to a new package of incentives in exchange for giving up uranium enrichment.
“The information has just been communicated to them, and it seems to me the appropriate thing now to do is to wait and see which path the Iranian government will take,” Rumsfeld said on the sidelines of a security conference.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Saturday that Iran had not yet received the proposals. But Mottaki said a breakthrough over Tehran’s nuclear program is possible, and he welcomed unconditional talks with all parties, including the United States.
The content of the proposals has not been made public. However, Rumsfeld said he hoped Iran would “recognize the seriousness and substance” of what had been put forward.
Iran faces sanctions if it refuses.
Rumsfeld said the U.S. agreed to the proposals because progress in talks between Iran and the U.K., Germany and France had “arrived at a point where it seemed not to be moving forward.
“The president made a decision to work with them and to work with Russia and China and attempt to offer a choice to the Iranian government,” Rumsfeld said.
Swiss Military Detains Suspect In CIA Secret Prison Leak June 3, 2006
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BERN, Switzerland (AP)–The Swiss military is investigating a person believed to have leaked a classified document that allegedly provided evidence of clandestine CIA prisons in Europe, an official said Saturday.
Military Justice spokesman Martin Immenhauser said the individual was taken into custody on May 24 and spent a week in investigative detainment. The person is suspected of having breached military secrets, he told The Associated Press, confirming a statement by the Zurich-based weekly “SonntagsBlick.”
Immenhauser refused to identify the suspect’s identity and would not say if the person worked for Swiss intelligence.
SonntagsBlick reported earlier this year that Swiss intelligence intercepted a fax alleging that the Egyptian Embassy in London had determined through its own sources that the U.S. had detained 23 Iraqi and Afghan terror suspects at a base in Romania.
The fax said there were similar U.S. detention centers in Ukraine, Kosovo, Macedonia and Bulgaria, according to the newspaper.
SonntagsBlick said ahead of its Sunday edition that it had no information concerning whom the Swiss military had taken into custody, as it claims to have found the document under a seat in a Swiss train.
The release of the document in January raised a storm in neutral Switzerland. The government played down the controversy, saying the document provided no direct evidence of the existence of clandestine CIA prisons, and refused to comment on its authenticity. But two ministries opened investigations into its leak and publication.
Immenhauser said the military’s investigation was separate from that of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, which is examining a possible breach of official secrets by the editor of SonntagsBlick as well as by two journalists at the newspaper.
Publishing a secret document can be a violation of Swiss law punishable by a fine or imprisonment.
Allegations that the CIA shipped prisoners through European airports to secret detention centers, including compounds in eastern Europe, were first reported by the Washington Post last November.
The European Parliament and the continent’s leading human rights body are investigating the reports. No senior E.U. official or government leader has confirmed questionable or illegal CIA activities on European territory, and few have spoken on the issue.
Iran TV Reports President Says Nuclear Program Settlement Possible June 3, 2006
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TEHRAN (AP)–Iran said Saturday that a breakthrough in negotiations over its contentious nuclear program was possible and welcomed unconditional talks with all parties, including the U.S.
Iran’s state-run television said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan that a settlement over the Islamic republic’s nuclear program was possible, provided the International Atomic Energy Agency – the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog – preserved Tehran’s minimum right to atomic energy.
“A breakthrough to overcome world problems, including Iran’s nuclear case, would be the equal implementation of the law for all,” the television quoted Ahmadinejad as telling Annan during a telephone conversation. Ahmadinejad’s comment alluded to the fact that Iran is a signatory of the IAEA treaty that allows member states to pursue civilian nuclear activities.
Earlier Saturday, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran was open to a negotiated solution for its nuclear program.
“We think that if there is good will, a breakthrough to get out of a situation they (the European Union and U.S.) have created for themselves… is possible,” Mottaki told a press conference.
Six world powers agreed on Thursday to offer Iran a new package of incentives if it gives up uranium enrichment, or sanctions if it refuses. The plan could either defuse a global confrontation with the Islamic regime or hasten one.
The U.S. warned Iran on Friday that it would not have much time to respond to the international package of rewards, suggesting that the window could close and be replaced by penalties if the Islamic republic doesn’t react fast.
“We are waiting to officially receive the proposals. We will make our views known after studying the package,” Mottaki said.
“We will also mention if any part of the package is not in Iran’s interests,” he said.
Mottaki said European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana would hand deliver the package to Iranian officials in the next few days. No specific date has yet been set for the trip, he said.
In Belgium, Solana’s spokeswoman Cristina Gallach confirmed he was ready to travel to Iran very soon. “The trip is not going to be a negotiating trip, the objective is to present the proposals of the international community,” she said.
At an Asian security conference, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said that Washington was still hoping for a positive Iranian response to the new incentives package.
“The information has just been communicated to them, and it seems to me the appropriate thing now to do is to wait and see which path the Iranian government will take,” Rumsfeld said.
Rumsfeld said he hoped Iran would “recognize the seriousness and substance” of what had been put forward.
Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran would study the package “within the necessary time-frame.”
In a rare show of optimism, Mottaki stressed that a settlement could be reached on the nuclear issue.
“We think that the views we will present our partners could prepare the ground for a comprehensive understanding (between Iran and the West),” he said, referring to the EU nations as partners in a sign that Iran is willing to find a solution to the nuclear standoff.
The package, agreed upon Thursday by the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany, carries the threat of U.N. sanctions if Tehran remains defiant over its nuclear program which the West fears is a cover for producing nuclear weapons. Iran says it is only striving to use nuclear reactors for generating electricity.
A short statement issued Thursday night did not mention economic sanctions, but U.S. officials said privately that Iran could face tough Security Council sanctions if it refuses to give up uranium enrichment and other disputed nuclear activities.
The formal offer of talks is expected to be made by France, Britain and Germany, the three EU nations that previously negotiated with Tehran.
A senior U.S. state department official said he expected Tehran would be invited to begin new negotiations “within a matter of days.”
The United States, in a major policy shift, agreed this week to join those talks on the condition that Tehran suspends all uranium enrichment and related activities. It would be the first major public negotiations between the two countries in more than 25 years.
Mottaki insisted Saturday that Iran would join no talks if conditions were attached.
“These negotiations have to be without any conditions. We won’t accept any condition for talks,” he told reporters.
“Member states of the board of governors at the IAEA can be parties for talks,” added Mottaki. The U.S. is on the board of governors of the IAEA.
Mottaki said Iran had its own views on how to conduct the talks. He did not elaborate, saying Tehran would make its position known once the talks develop.
Iran announced April 11 that it had enriched uranium for the first time, using 164 centrifuges. Enrichment can produce either fuel for a nuclear reactor or material for a warhead – but tens of thousands of centrifuges are needed to do either on a large scale.
Iran intends to move toward large-scale uranium enrichment involving 3,000 centrifuges by late 2006, and then expand the program to 54,000 centrifuges.
Iran maintains that as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty it has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes – such as the production of reactor fuel.
However, Iran has indicated that it may suspend large-scale uranium enrichment to ease tensions.
Vatican Insists Diplomacy Can Resolve Iran Nuclear Dispute June 3, 2006
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VATICAN CITY (AP)–The Vatican insisted Saturday that diplomacy can and must resolve the international crisis over Iran’s nuclear program.
The Holy See “is firmly convinced that even the present difficulties can and must be overcome through the diplomatic path, using all means which diplomacy can avail itself of,” Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement.
In an Easter message of April 16, Pope Benedict XVI also had urged the use of diplomacy to defuse nuclear crises, in a clear reference to tensions over Iran’s intentions.
The Vatican’s appeal for a diplomatic solution came as Iran’s foreign minister said that a breakthrough was possible over Tehran’s nuclear program, but only if the United States drops its conditions for negotiations.
“The Holy See supports, as always, every initiative aimed at open and constructive dialogue,” Navarro-Valls said in his statement.
In a major policy shift, the United States agreed this week to join France, Britain and Germany in talks with Iran providing that Tehran suspends all suspect nuclear activities. It would be the first major public negotiations between Washington and Tehran in more than 25 years.
On Thursday the four countries, along with China and Russia, agreed to offer Iran incentives to give up suspect nuclear activities, but threatened U.N. sanctions if Tehran refuses.
The Vatican spokesman said “in particular, it appears necessary that, through confidential contacts, those elements that objectively impede reciprocal trust be removed, without ever dismissing any sign of good will given by either side, and having regard for the honor and sensitivity of every country.”
Using that approach, both sides can move closer together, Navarro-Valls said.
Pope Receives UK’s Blair In Private Audience June 3, 2006
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VATICAN CITY (AP)–Pope Benedict XVI and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in their first private talks, on Saturday discussed the role religion can play in politics and society, the Vatican said.
Blair, his wife, and their children were received in a private audience in a visit to the Vatican that lasted about an hour.
For the prime minister, it was the first private meeting with Benedict since the pontiff’s election last year, although Cherie Blair had met the pope in April when she participated in a Vatican conference on children.
Smiling broadly, Blair shook hands with the pope and then sat down in the papal study for what the Vatican described as “cordial” talks. Blair was escorted to his meeting by Swiss Guards in plumed helmets.
The two explored “the contribution which common values between religions can give to dialogue, in particular with moderate Islam, above all on the themes of solidarity and peace,” Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.
Also discussed was the need for the international community to help peaceful coexistence and development in Africa, according to Navarro-Valls. The “decisive” progress of the peace process in Northern Ireland was also reviewed, the spokesman said.
Italian state TV added that Blair was keen on having the pope visit Britain, although there was no mention of that in the Vatican statement.
Blair a day earlier held talks in Rome with Italy’s new premier, Romano Prodi, about the Italian troop withdrawal from Iraq, which Prodi has said will be completed this year.
