Iran weighs package of incentives

"On the nuclear question, we prefer cooperation to confrontation," the official IRNA news agency quoted Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki as saying after EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana jetted in to make the offer.

"The proposals were submitted by Mr. Solana and we are going to carefully study them," said Mottaki. "Shuttle diplomacy, if it is in good faith, would allow us to find grounds for understanding."

The package -- which offers trade, diplomatic and technology incentives in return for a freeze of the sensitive nuclear work -- was drawn up by Britain, France and Germany and is backed by the United States, Russia and China.

It is aimed at resolving fears that Iran could acquire nuclear weapons yet at the same time seeking to guarantee the country's access to atomic energy.

Top national security official Ali Larijani has said it contained "positive steps" but also "ambiguities" -- signalling no immediate decision from Tehran was likely.

A Western diplomat told AFP the "offer gives Iran a choice. The condition is that Iran returns to a suspension, and this condition is non-negotiable.

"The deadline is one of several weeks, basically before the end of the month and before the G8 meeting" Saint Petersburg, Russia, in five weeks' time, he said.

"Even if the emphasis at the moment is on incentives, the suspension is something we won't back down on. Iran has taken a first step by accepting to consider the offer, whereas in the past they have rejected such a thing," said the diplomat, who asked not to be named.

While being offered carrots, Iran also faces the stick of robust Security Council action, including a range of possible sanctions, if it rejects the offer.

Diplomats say the United States has helped sweeten the package by offering to lift certain sanctions if Iran agrees to an enrichment freeze. Washington has also agreed to join multilateral talks with Iran if it suspends, offering the prospect of the first substantive talks between the two arch enemies for 26 years.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the United States and Europe have actually offered Iran the possibility of enriching uranium on its territory if it meets certain stringent conditions.

Iran would have to satisfy International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and the UN Security Council, European and US officials told the daily.

The IAEA must determine "with confidence" that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and the council must be satisfied that Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, the officials said.

The offer would be a policy reversal for Washington, which up to now has insisted that Iran cannot be trusted with such sensitive technology.

"We are basically now saying that over the long haul, if they restore confidence, that this Iranian regime can have enrichment at home," said one US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"But they have to answer every concern given all that points to a secret weapons programme."