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18 November 2004

U.S. Still Cautious About EU-Iran Nuclear Agreement, Powell Says

Secretary notes Iran's history of violating nonproliferation commitments

By David Shelby
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The United States is looking at the nuclear agreement between Iran and European negotiators with caution, waiting to see whether it will produce a credible system of verification to ensure that Iran abides by its commitments, according to Secretary of State Colin Powell.

"The EU-3 has played an important role, but they know as well as we do that they got an agreement with Iran in the Fall of 2003, and then Iran violated that agreement and broke the commitments that it made," Powell told reporters during a November 17 press briefing.

The EU-3, which includes Britain, France and Germany, struck a deal with Iran November 14 whereby Iran agreed to suspend all enrichment activities effective November 22 while it negotiates nuclear, economic and security cooperation with Europe.

Powell noted that the Iranians have only agreed to a provisional suspension of their nuclear activities and said, "We really have always been interested in more than just something that can be switched on and off. Now, with the necessary verification in place, the other assurances they may have gotten, maybe it's more than that."

The secretary said that the United States will be studying the agreement carefully and following further negotiations as well as the verification process very closely.

"We'll be following this with a certain degree of caution -- not in opposition to what's going on, but with necessary, deserved caution, because for 20 years the Iranians have been trying to hide things from the international community," Powell said.

Powell also mentioned recent reports from Iranian dissidents saying that Iran continues to pursue a clandestine nuclear weapons program at a military site near Tehran and added that he has seen intelligence indicating that Iran is working to develop weapons delivery systems suitable for nuclear warheads.

He said, "You've got to make sure you've got something that gives us some confidence that they're going to meet their commitments this time."

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is set to begin an examination of Iran's adherence to its nonproliferation commitments November 25. Iran will resume negotiations with Europe in mid-December to discuss economic and security incentives that Europe would be willing to offer in exchange for long-term guarantees of Iran's peaceful nuclear intentions.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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