Europe 'treads softly' on Iran at IAEA meeting

Europe is treading softly on the issue of Iran's uranium enrichment program at a meeting of the UN nuclear agency, fearing too much pressure could jeopardize talks with Teheran, documents made available to The Associated Press showed Wednesday. A draft statement by the European Union drawn up for later delivery at the 35-nation board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency notes "that ... international concerns about Iran's nuclear program remain to be resolved and that repeated requests by the board remain to be fulfilled." But beyond that mild criticism of Teheran's refusal to cooperate with an IAEA probe of its nuclear activities, the four-paragraph statement is conciliatory, urging Iran "to respond positively" to a recent offer to resume nuclear talks.