Europe offers Iran incentives in nuclear talks

LONDON – European diplomats on Friday sought to entice Iran into a binding commitment not to build atomic arms by offering to provide fuel and other long-term support to help Iranians generate electricity with nuclear energy.

The Bush administration backed the offer.

The proposal to Iran came from Britain, France and Germany, which are representing the European Union. They also offered greater economic, political and security cooperation if the Tehran government agrees to the plan.

Iran has long claimed its nuclear program is solely for the peaceful production of electricity, while Washington charges the real aim was to produce arms. The discovery of clandestine aspects of Iran’s program raised worries among other nations and pressures have mounted on Iran.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, announced it would hold an emergency meeting Tuesday to formally warn Iran not to resume uranium enrichment. Uranium enriched to low levels can be used as fuel to generate electricity, but further enrichment makes it suitable for a nuclear bomb.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said the EU proposal would be studied “today and tomorrow” and a response would be issued “soon.”