Cooperation sought

However, it called upon Iran to substantially increase its cooperation with the IAEA inspectors as the agency has not been able "to conclude that there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in Iran."

Without heightened cooperation, the agency would be unable to establish whether some of Iran's past nuclear activities under wraps were not linked to the manufacture of nuclear weapons. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki who has been visiting Japan said, "They (IAEA) could not find evidence which shows that Iran has diverted from its peaceful purposes of nuclear activities in Iran." The report is likely to strongly influence the March 6 meeting in Vienna where the IAEA board is expected to discuss the future course of action on Iran.

On February 4, the board had decided to report Iran's case to the U.N. Security Council, which can take action against Iran, including the imposition of economic sanctions.

Buoyed by the report, Iran is rushing the head of its Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani to Russia for another round of talks.

A Russian delegation led by Sergei Kiriyenko held talks with Iran over the weekend.

These discussions had revolved around the establishment of a joint venture facility in Russia, which would produce enriched uranium for generating electricity.

That meeting produced an "agreement in principle" on this subject.

However, later, differences appear to have surfaced on another issue - on whether Iran would be allowed to operate a small-scale enrichment plant for research purposes.

The IAEA report said that Iran had begun enrichment using 10 centrifuges - a move which can result in the production of only minute quantities of enriched uranium.

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu

Larijani said his team had put forward a "package proposal" in Wednesday's talks in Moscow, denying that the discussions had ended in failure. "We need to give diplomats time to look at it," he said.

Russia has urged Iran to freeze its domestic uranium enrichment program as a condition for its offer to create a joint venture to enrich uranium for Tehran on Russian territory. But Larijani reaffirmed Tehran's refusal to give it up following Wednesday's talks. The point was reinforced by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said during a visit to Malaysia that "it is very clear that we are not open to negotiating on our inalienable rights."

A Russian nuclear agency official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the press, said the Moscow talks had snagged over Iran's refusal to return to a moratorium on enrichment.

"They are ready in principle to accept our proposal, but we don't want to discuss it separately" from the need for Iran to return to the moratorium, the official said.

Talks between Russia and Iran resumed on Thursday, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported, quoting an unnamed official close to the negotiations.

"Consultations are taking place," the official was quoted as saying by ITAR-Tass, without specifying who was participating in the talks on either side. The Iranian delegation was to expected to fly out of Moscow later Thursday ahead of talks in Vienna with three European nations due to take place on Friday.

The U.S. State Department said Wednesday that Iran's persistence in conducting its own enrichment gave reason to hand over the Iranian nuclear dossier to the U.N. Security Council.

"The Americans are saying one thing in words, but then they throw a spanner into the works," Larijani said.

Larijani said Tehran will conduct separate talks with Britain, France and Germany - which have represented the European Union in nuclear negotiations with Iran - before a key meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's governing board on Monday.

The Vienna-based IAEA board of governors could start a process leading to punishment by the U.N. Security Council, which has the authority to impose sanctions on Iran.

Iran insists its nuclear program is only to generate power, but many in the West fear Iran is aiming to develop atomic weapons.

Moscow's offer to have Iran's uranium enrichment program transferred to Russia has been backed by the United States and the EU as a way to provide more assurances that Tehran's atomic program could not be used to build weapons.

Larijani also said Tehran would accept inspections by the United Nations nuclear watchdog if the IAEA allows it to pursue its nuclear program.

Asked about IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei's reported statement that the world may have to get used to the idea of Iran's having limited enrichment capabilities, Larijani said it reflected a "realistic approach."

"I hope that people and ears can be found to listen to this proposal. I think that Mr. ElBaradei's idea can be turned into a new formula, it can be studied," he said.

©MMVI The Associated Press.

Although democratizing Iran is a worthy objective, the administration is making a mistake in embracing a strategy for regime change based on the European experience. Conditions in Iran bear little resemblance to those that accompanied the downfall of dictatorial regimes in Europe, making it likely that the administration's new strategy will backfire and only strengthen Tehran's hard-liners. Instead of isolating Iran and seeking to undermine the regime from the outside, Washington should engage Iran, bringing about a natural process of political reform from within.

Across Eastern Europe, the opposition movements that toppled communism - and have more recently brought democracy to places such as Georgia and Ukraine - were avowedly pro-American. Dissidents were only too happy to receive assistance from Washington and to identify themselves with U.S. policy. Alignment with the U.S. remains a valuable political asset for Europe's new democracies.

Not so in Iran. A pronounced suspicion of the U.S. spans the political spectrum. The Bush administration's rhetorical - and now financial - support for the Iranian people only makes life more difficult for the democratic advocates it is intended to buttress. Iranian conservatives continue to respond to U.S. "interference" by cracking down on dissidents whom they portray as a "fifth column." Even those reformers with pro-American inclinations have been forced to cover their backs by denouncing American belligerence.

In Eastern Europe, the regimes felled by democratic revolt were brittle and illegitimate; they had long been discredited in the eyes of their citizens. In contrast, Iran's current regime enjoys considerable popularity. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been quite adept at wrapping himself in the mantle of nationalism. The Bush administration fails to appreciate that its coercive diplomacy on the nuclear issue is undercutting its effort to drain support from Iran's leaders.

The centralized regimes of Eastern Europe also maintained tight control over the media, so U.S. broadcasts and the covert distribution of information played a vital role in fostering democratic debate. Such measures will prove far less effective in Iran, where access to cellphones, the Internet and satellite TV is widespread. Although Iran does not have a free press, domestic debate is reasonably pluralistic.

The U.S. has a stake in Iran's internal power struggles, and the administration is right to want to undermine Iran's reactionary clerics. However, the best way to do so is to offer the Iranian people not radio broadcasts in Farsi but the realistic prospect of integration into the international community. Doing this gradually, starting with the World Bank and the World Trade Organization, the U.S. can encourage Tehran to embrace decentralization, accountability and transparency - political practices that ultimately will bring down Ahmadinejad and his firebrand conservatives.

Moreover, Washington would be investing in a repository of goodwill within Iran, essential to nurturing a new generation of reformers that sees the U.S. as a prospective partner rather than the Great Satan. Coercive threats are needed to persuade Tehran to abandon its efforts to acquire the technology to produce nuclear weapons. But those threats must be accompanied by credible promises of political normalization should Tehran veer from its belligerent policies. Otherwise, only the hard-liners - who rely on external demons and isolation from the international community to justify their monopoly on power - benefit.

Eastern Europe's would-be democrats knew that the West was waiting for their countries with open arms, encouraging them to take the earliest opportunity to discard their repressive regimes. In a region still beset by deep distrust of American motives, Iran's progressives now need the same assurance.

CHARLES A. KUPCHAN is a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. RAY TAKEYH is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Rel

Copyright 2006 Los Angeles Times