French, British diplomats tell Israel that interim deal possible with Iran

Haaretz

Senior Israeli officials and European diplomats said on Wednesday that Britain and France did not rule out the possibility of reaching an interim agreement with Tehran that would ease some of the international sanctions on Iran, in exchange for significant restrictions on that country’s uranium enrichment and increased monitoring of its nuclear facilities.

High-ranking British and French diplomats arrived in Israel on Wednesday to meet with their Israeli counterparts, ahead of the six-power talks with Iran that are scheduled to begin in Geneva on Tuesday.

The delegations included France’s top delegate to the talks, Jacques Audibert, and the deputy head of the British negotiating team, Michael Howells. The two held separate meetings Wednesday with senior figures in the National Security Council, the Foreign Ministry and the Strategic and Intelligence Affairs Ministry.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius sent Audibert to Israel after speaking on Saturday night with Strategic and Intelligence Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz.

The Wall Street Journal reported early on Wednesday that Iran is expected to submit a proposal of its own at next week’s talks in Geneva. It is said to be similar to the one submitted by the six powers to Iran in talks held in Alamaty, Kazakhstan more than six months ago. Iran, which was in the midst of its presidential election at the time, never responded to the proposal from the so-called P5+1: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - plus Germany.

Based on conversations with past and present senior American administration officials as well as senior Iranian figures, the Wall Street Journal report said the Iranian proposal would include an end to uranium enrichment to 20-percent purity, from which reaching the 90-percent purity needed for a nuclear weapon is a relatively small step. The 180 kilograms of 20-percent-enriched uranium already stockpiled in Iran would be removed to a third country, in exchange for nuclear fuel rods for use in the research reactor in Tehran. Iran would also agree to limits on the number of uranium-enrichment centrifuges in operation and to additional inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. In addition, the WSJ said, Iran is considering offering the closure of the fortified underground site at Qom where uranium is being enriched to 20 percent.

The visiting diplomats told their Israeli counterparts that while they were skeptical that a breakthrough could be reached in Geneva, they sought to test the seriousness of Tehran’s intentions.

One European diplomat said Israel was being unrealistic in its expectation that an agreement with Iran would end all uranium enrichment in that country, as well as in its expectation that sanctions would not be eased until Tehran’s nuclear program was completely dismantled. The diplomat said that if Tehran’s proposal in Geneva was similar to that reported by the Wall Street Journal, it would be considered a reasonable one.

The British and French officials told their Israeli counterparts that they disagreed with Jerusalem’s argument that any letup of the sanctions would lead to a breakdown of the entire sanctions mechanism.

The Europeans said the six powers would agree to lift sanctions on Iran’s trade in gold and petrochemical products, but that the European Union’s oil embargo would remain in place, as would restrictions on Iran’s banking system, easing of which would require further concessions by Tehran.

Israeli officials yesterday dismissed the WSJ report and said the Iranians were recycling old, irrelevant ideas. Steinitz said Iranian willingness to limit uranium enrichment to 20 percent was less significant now that Iran has thousands of centrifuges operating that can enrich uranium at a faster pace than before.