US takes U-turn, will talk to Iran

Speaking at the State Department before flying to Vienna for a meeting with European diplomats, Rice said that the precondition for the multinational talks were for Iran to halt the uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities that it resumed following the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad last year.

Tehran would also have to allow a resumption of the voluntary surprise visits by nuclear inspectors that it cut off earlier this year.

Rice held out the eventual prospect of a “new relationship” involving contacts in trade, sports and education. But she stressed that the talks would not involve one-on-one meetings with Iran and was not part any broader negotiations. The US has not had full diplomatic ties with Iran since the 1979 hostage crisis.

“This is not a grand bargain,” she said. “What we’re talking about here is an effort to enhance the chances for a successful negotiated solution.”

Before any broader talks could take place, Rice said, Iran would have to change policies that involved the support of terrorism in the Palestinian territories and actions undermining the stability of Iraq.

She said the US offer could be seen as removing “the last excuse” Iran would have for not taking a European offer seriously. And she made clear that the US was keeping a firm grasp on the prospect of a stick to balance out the new carrot.

If the talks did not lead to agreement, Rice said, the US would then move to “increase the pressure” through UN Security Council sanctions, “or if necessary, with like-minded states outside of the Security Council”.

In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Snow, told reporters that US President Bush had called the leaders of Russia, France and Germany on Tuesday to brief them on the decision, “and they all signed off.” “There are going to be some changes,” Snow said of the US position.

Pressure has been building on the administration to accept some sort of contact, as American and Europeans have struggled in recent weeks to find an approach that would win agreement from Russia and China, which are wary of imposing sanctions.

European officials have said that Iran is more likely to be persuaded by any security guarantees included in the package if the US is involved in the negotiations.

In another move to enlist Russian support for a UNSC resolution, the Bush administration has agreed to language ruling out the immediate threat of military force, American and European officials said. The US goal is to get an agreement on a UNSC resolution this week, for possible approval in June.

For months the US has demanded that pressure on Iran must increase through passage of a UNSC resolution under Chapter VII of the UN charter. This chapter invokes the Council’s power to demand compliance of member countries on certain matters and threaten punishment if they refuse.

Russia, fearing a replay of the events before the Iraq war in 2002 and 2003, has opposed any invocation of Chapter VII, on the ground that the US might seize upon its approval as a justification for acting unilaterally to impose economic penalties or use military force against Iran.

To placate the Russians, the US has agreed to invoke only Article 41 of Chapter VII, and not the whole chapter. Article 41 makes no reference to the possible use of force, and therefore offers the Russians a means to support it.

STEVEN R WEISMAN & JOHN O’NEIL