European Union debates opening talks with Iran

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union delayed plans Monday to begin talks on a trade and cooperation pact with Iran, taking heed of U.S. concerns that Iran should be treated as a state that sponsors terrorism.

Officials said EU foreign ministers were divided over whether to include strong language condemning terrorism and supporting human rights in an eventual agreement.

Britain, Germany and the Netherlands pushed for making any deal with Iran contingent on respect for human rights, worried about creating a rift with Washington in the campaign against terrorism. France, Greece and Italy argued that basing the deal on political conditions would sink it. Most EU treaties include human rights clauses. Meanwhile, Iranian exiles demonstrated outside the meeting to protest the EU's decision earlier this month to include the Iraq-based Iranian rebel group Mujahedeen Khalq on its list of terrorist organizations.

Europe and the United States have disagreed on Iran for years, and the divide has deepened since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

President Bush included Iran with Iraq and South Korea in what he termed an "axis of evil," bluntly warning them to abandon support for terrorists and weapons programs or face the consequences, while the EU has pursued what it calls "constructive dialogue" with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami.