by Jean-Louis Doublet
WASHINGTON - The United States has decided to change course and offer support for European nuclear diplomacy with Iran, without getting directly involved in the talks.
"We gave a couple of chips to the Europeans to play in their negotiations with the Iranians. It is not us becoming party to the negotiations. We are not," an administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"I don't think we would call it a dramatic shift in our relation with Iran," the official underlined.
"This is not something we're giving to Iran, this is something we're giving to the Europeans."
The United States said Friday it would drop objections to Iran joining the World Trade Organization in an initiative aimed at helping efforts by Britain, France and Germany to persuade Iran to end its suspect nuclear programme.
"Basically, we're withholding our objections to a couple of things that the Europeans want to be able to use in their discussions with the Iranians," the official explained.
Washington also said it was prepared to examine "on a case-by-case basis, the licensing of spare parts for Iranian civilian aircraft," in a minor breach of an almost total US embargo against Iran.
US officials emphasized that the ball is now in Tehran's camp.
"The Iranians need to take the opportunity that the Europeans are presenting them with to demonstrate that they're prepared to live up to their international obligations," chief US diplomat Condoleezza Rice said.
According to a source close to the White House, a European pledge to take the matter before the UN Security Council if Iran does not renounce its enrichment and reprocessing activities was one of the key factors in the US decision to offer incentives.
The administration official referred to a statement Berlin, London and Paris sent to Washington and to European capitals, saying it "made very clear that Iran has to commit not to have a nuclear weapon."
"They also made clear in their statement that in the event that Iran backs out of the agreement ... then the remedy would be to go to the Security Council and that they will support such a move. That's an understanding we have been trying to achieve for sometime."
Washington is not looking for concrete results by a certain date, Rice said.
"We do not have a specific timetable, obviously. These are negotiations. We will stay in close contact with our friends," she said, referring to Britain, Germany and France.
The US initiative is another demonstration of President George W. Bush's efforts to improve US-European relations.
After tensions resulting from his decision to go to war against Iraq two years ago, he made it clear that he was seeking a rapprochement, during a trip to Europe in late February.
With US calls to Syria to withdraw troops from Lebanon, the adoption of a common stance towards Iran is the second concrete sign of the new climate of cooperation.
"I am pleased that we are speaking with one voice with our European friends," Bush said Friday. "I look forward to working with our European friends to make it abundantly clear to the Iranian regime that the free world will not tolerate them having a nuclear weapon."
Vice President Dick Cheney for his part warned Friday that Washington would not hesitate to take "stronger action" if Tehran did not abandon suspected nuclear ambitions.
Iran on Saturday snubbed the US offer of incentives, saying it was "determined" to press on with its nuclear programme.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, and no pressure, bribe or threat can make Iran give up its legitimate right," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said in a statement issued in Tehran.
"The restrictions regarding (aircraft) spare parts that were of no military use should have not been imposed from the beginning, and lifting them is not an incentive," he said.
"Getting into the WTO is the right of all countries of the world."
03/12/2005 11:25 GMT