IAEA to remove Isfahan seals

Iran resumed uranium conversion at Isfahan on Monday without breaking any UN seals at the plant. But in order to run the whole plant—which turns uranium concentrate into a gas which be enriched into reactor or bomb fuel—some seals must be broken. The seals were put in place after Iran agreed to suspend all nuclear fuel work last November as part of an agreement with Britain, Germany and France.

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said it was still possible to negotiate with Iran over its nuclear programme.

“We think that it is still possible to negotiate. Our handis still outstretched. We think the Paris accords can still be saved,” Douste-Blazy told reporters after meeting Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos in southwestern France.

Asked whether the UN Security Council should deal with the issue, Douste-Blazy said: “It’s the council of IAEA governors who has to do it first. The council of governors will issue their position…. We think that just until the last minute, it is possible to negotiate.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s new President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said on Tuesday he had new ideas to resolve its nuclear stadoff with the West and was ready to continue nuclear talks with the EU, the semi-official ISNA students news agency reported.

‘‘I have new initiatives and proposals which I will present after my government takes office,’’ he said in a telephone conversation with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, ISNA said.

Calling Iran seeking to return to international negotiations on its nuclear program a good sign, President George W. Bush said that he remained deeply suspicious of Tehran’s intentions on developing an atomic weapon.