Washington agrees to talks with Tehran

President Barack Obama's administration has kept its pledge to unconditional talks with Iran by accepting Tehran's offer of wide-ranging discussions.

Iran's foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki has urged the West to address Tehran's proposals "seriously, deeply and analytically."

President Barack Obama's administration has kept its pledge to hold unconditional talks with Iran by accepting Tehran's offer this week of wide-ranging discussions - despite the Islamic Republic's repeated and strident refusals to curb its nuclear programme. The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, was in contact yesterday with Tehran to arrange a meeting at the "earliest possible opportunity" with officials from the US and five other major powers. Iran reiterated its readiness for negotiations but made no direct response to Washington's overture and insisted again it would not compromise on its "inalienable right" to peaceful nuclear power.

The US stressed that long-awaited proposals submitted by Iran on Wednesday did not address the West's nuclear concerns but made clear Washington was keen to explore whether they represented a starting point for genuine negotiations. If so, the talks could develop into the first real engagement between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. "We will seek an early meeting, and we will seek to test Iran's willingness to engage," said PJ Crowley, the US state department spokesman. Washington's response on Friday to the Iranian offer came just hours after Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, stated his country's opposition to further sanctions against Tehran or any military action targeting Iran.

European powers have warned of tougher economic measures against Iran if it does not stop uranium enrichment while Israeli officials have threatened to attack Tehran's nuclear facilities to prevent it from acquiring the bomb. The US insisted its readiness to talk to Iran was a "bona fide offer", implying it was not made solely because Washington accepts it cannot press for further sanctions before it at least plumbs Iranian intentions in a face-to-face meeting.

"There's language in that [Iranian] letter that simply says the government of Iran is willing to enter into dialogue," Mr Crowley said. "We are going to test that proposition, OK? And if Iran is willing to enter into serious negotiations, then they will find a willing participant in the United States and other [partner] countries." He added that US officials would raise Iran's nuclear activities in any meeting - which would put a senior US representative at the bargaining table for the first time since Mr Obama took office in January. But Mr Crowley stressed: "If Iran dissembles in the future, as it has in the past, then we will draw conclusions from that."

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, proclaimed on Friday the Islamic Republic would continue its nuclear programme, which Tehran vigorously maintains is aimed solely at generating electricity. "Becoming passive and retreating instead of resistance against the world's arrogance, aggressors and international plunderers and forgoing [Iran's] rights - whether nuclear or others - instead of standing firm, is a sign of decadence," he said.

That message was underlined yesterday by Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki. "We can't make any compromises with respect to the Iranian nation's inalienable right [to have nuclear technology]," he said. But he called on major powers to address Iran's package of proposals "seriously, deeply and analytically". Negotiations "can start" if "the conditions are ready", he added, without identifying them.

Mr Mottaki was speaking at a joint news conference in Tehran with Turkey's visiting foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, who met with Mr Solana before his trip and is thought to be playing a mediating role. Mr Davutoglu said Iran's nuclear issue could be "resolved through talks" and expressed the hope that Turkey could help lift sanctions on Tehran. Iran's proposals were submitted to the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany on the same day last week that Washington alleged the Islamic Republic was moving closer to being able to make a nuclear bomb. The five-page Iranian proposals made no mention of its nuclear programme - the West's main concern - but called for "comprehensive, all-encompassing and constructive" negotiations on a range of issues. Among them was global nuclear disarmament, which Iran experts said could represent an opening for talks on Iran's nuclear programme, enabling world powers to press Tehran for greater transparency and stringent inspections.

Apparently easing its position further, Washington said it would not impose "artificial deadlines" on Iran, which is in turmoil following President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election in June. Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, acknowledged on Friday it was difficult to assess Mr Obama's overtures to Iran because of the "elections and their aftermath". Washington initially had set an end of September deadline for Iran to respond to a six-month-old invitation to talks on its nuclear programme from the world powers. Mr Obama is under strong domestic pressure to press for further sanctions against Iran rather than entering into unconditional talks, although progress in any negotiations would ease his position.

Mr Mottaki yesterday dismissed the threat of sanctions, saying the West had "four years of failed experience" in that regard. Meanwhile, Iran's new defence minister, Ahmad Vahidi, again insisted Iran's nuclear programme is purely civilian. "We regard production of weapons of mass destruction as contrary to our religious, human and national principles," he said. Overall, the Iranian proposals reflect the Islamic Republic's conviction that it deserves the right to be regarded not only as a regional but a world player, a goal it believes has been frustrated by US hostility.

The other issues Tehran offered to discuss included "the root causes of terrorism", energy security, preventing another global financial crisis, solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, reforming the UN Security Council and promoting democracy around the world. The international response to the Iranian proposals was mixed, with much depending on the eye of the beholder. Western officials portrayed them as nebulous and evasive while Russia stressed the positive, pointing out that comprehensive talks could help the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the US and Iran have shared interests.

Optimists have a precedent. During the US embassy hostage crisis 30 years ago, Iran presented proposals for the release of 52 diplomats that Washington initially regarded as preposterous. But among the chaff was grain that secured a sudden deal for their release after 444 days. @Email:[e-mail] [e-mail]