Iran in talks with UN nuclear watchdog

Iran said on Friday it hoped within a month to present a plan to head off EU preparations to refer it to the UN Security Council for possibl...

Iran said on Friday it hoped within a month to present a plan to head off EU preparations to refer it to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions, but diplomats interpreted the move as stalling.

Iran’s top negotiator Ali Larijani’s visit to International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei in Vienna seemed an attempt to forestall the EU’s efforts at preparing the road to possible sanctions on Iran for having resumed uranium conversion work this month. ‘‘I think they’re stalling,’’ a Non-Aligned Movement diplomat said.

Speaking after the meeting, Larijani said, ‘‘With the power that Iran enjoys in the region, there is no way that it can be worried about the threat of the Security Council.’’ He added that he thought talks could still succeed. France has also said it was still open to talks.

‘‘The door is open, our hand is outstretched, and so we are completely open to contact with the Iranians, and such contact could occur at any time,’’ a French Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

On Thursday, Larijani had said Iran was finalising a new plan which would include broadening negotiations to involve nations outside the European Union trio: such as NAM nations and ‘‘major countries’’ which had expressed an interest in parallel negotiations. ‘‘South Africa has been particularly active in this area,’’ he said.

Larijani also said the initiative would encompass plans for other parts of Iran’s nuclear programme, currently suspended under an agreement with the EU3 made last November. —Reuters