Iran says Western incentives a 'step forward'

"We are going to review and study the proposals seriously," FM Mottaki says.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday that a Western package of incentives designed to persuade Teheran to suspend uranium enrichment is a "step forward" in the nuclear dispute. "We consider it a step forward to present this package of incentives," Manouchehr Mottaki said as he arrived at Madrid airport for talks with his Spanish counterpart. He was referring to a proposal devised by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany that was presented to Tehran last week. "We are going to review and study the proposals seriously," he told reporters. He would not specify when Teheran must make a decision on whether to accept them. Mottaki said that, after Iran had reviewed the incentives, it would consult with Germany, Britain and France to express its views. "Then we'll decide together how to handle the issue and follow up the matter to the finalization and solution of the problem," he said in English. Spain was not one of the countries involved in the incentives package. The incentives include an offer to provide Iran with nuclear technology to get it to step away from enriching uranium, and would bring Washington into direct talks with Teheran.