Iran rejects European delay request

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran rejected on Saturday a request from European negotiators to postpone by a week the announcing of new European proposals for resolving the dispute over Iran's controversial nuclear program.

France, Britain and Germany, acting on behalf of the 25-nation European Union, had been expected to present the proposals to Iran by the beginning of August but requested a delay until Aug. 7, said Ali Agha Mohammadi, spokesman of Iran's powerful security decision-making body, the Supreme National Security Council.

The proposals are part of an agreement reached in May under which Iran would continue its suspension of nuclear activities in return for a comprehensive European plan for resolving the nuclear dispute.

Outgoing President Mohammad Khatami, who will be replaced by ultraconservative president-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Aug. 6, said Wednesday that Iran will resume some suspended activities once the European plan was produced, whether or not the Europeans consented to the resumption.

Agha Mohammadi, the spokesman, said Iran's top officials will meet Sunday evening to make a "Final decision" on when to resume work at the uranium reprocessing center in Isfahan.

The next step

The center converts raw uranium into gas. Iran has said it will not resume the next, more controversial step in the process - feeding the gas into centrifuges to produce enriched uranium, which can be used

either as fuel for a nuclear energy reactor or as material to make a nuclear weapon.

The United States accuses Iran of seeking to produce weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear program aims only to produce electricity.

The Europeans are trying to persuade Iran to permanently freeze enrichment and impose guarantees it cannot produce weapons, in return for possible economic incentives.

Iran has shown growing impatience with the negotiations, insisting its suspension is not permanent.

It suspended all uranium enrichment-related activities in November to build international trust and avoid possible U.N. Sanctions.

"We don't accept any delay. We call on Europeans to submit their proposals within the time left and meet Iran's minimum expectations," Agha Mohammadi told The Associated Press Saturday.

The incoming president, Ahmadinejad, has said his country will not pursue atomic weapons but will also not submit to international pressure to abandon its controversial nuclear program, comments similar to those during the past year by Iranian leaders.

Some Europeans worry that Ahmadinejad - who won presidential elections last month with the backing of

hard-line elements of Iran's Islamic regime - could take a tougher stance in negotiations than the reform-minded administration of Khatami that he is replacing.