New Iranian offer on joint uranium enrichment reported

Jan 21, 2006, 16:20 GMT

Berlin - A new Iranian offer in the dispute over Tehran's nuclear research was reported Saturday by the German news magazine Der Spiegel, which said that the Iranians proposed to bring China into a joint uranium enrichment project.

In a report to appear in its Monday issue, the magazine said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had received the proposal from Iranian leaders after a suggestion by Moscow that enrichment be done on Russian territory in a joint-venture factory.

Uranium enrichment is needed to provide fuel for power generation, which is internationally accepted, but can also produce weapons-grade uranium to make nuclear weapons. An external factory would keep the activity verifiable.

Initially Tehran rejected the offer out of hand, since it did not want its powerful neighbour to have a hand in the strategic industry.

But Spiegel said it had since asked if China could be a party to the joint venture.

Approached by Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa for confirmation of the Spiegel story, Foreign Office officials in Berlin declined comment.

Spiegel added that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had telephoned both US President George W. Bush and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in recent days to advocate a diplomatic solution with Russian participation. She had talks in Moscow on Monday.

Germany Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said in a news interview released Saturday that sabre-rattling over Iran's nuclear programme was the right thing to do, even though diplomatic efforts have priority.

The German Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag also asked him if he agreed with French President Jacques Chirac, who this week said France includes states employing terrorism as potential nuclear targets.

'We ought not to lead the discussion in that direction,' said Jung.

He said he hoped there was a negotiated settlement in concert with the United States, Russia and China. 'I am fairly confident that there will be a diplomatic solution in the case of Iran.'