WTO agrees to negotiate with Iran

VIENNA, Austria -- The World Trade Organization eased open its door to Iran on Thursday -- an immediate reward for Tehran's decision to stick with talks Europe hopes will reduce Tehran's potential for nuclear mischief.

Iran was jubilant over the decision by the 148-member WTO in Geneva, which governs international commerce, to open membership negotiations with Tehran.

"Today this house with this decision has done service to itself by correcting a wrong," said Mohammad Reza Alborzi, Iran's chief representative to international organizations in Geneva.

But Iran still insists on the right to technology that can make nuclear arms. Its decision Wednesday to meet with European Union negotiators for a new round of talks did little more than postpone a diplomatic struggle over Iran's vow to resume programs capable of producing nuclear weapons.

"The idea is that the process will continue," said a European official familiar with what was discussed in Geneva, acknowledging that no progress was made on the key dispute in the six-month talks -- Iran's insistence on the right to enrich uranium and European opposition to such plans.

"Yesterday we didn't go into substance; we entered mainly into methodology," said another official, who, like her colleague, demanded anonymity because of the sensitivity of the closed-door talks. She told The Associated Press that Iran's demand that it be allowed to enrich uranium "remains unacceptable" to the Europeans.

Iran first applied to join the WTO in 1996, but the United States blocked its application 22 times. The United States said in March it would drop its veto, after consultations with France, Germany and Britain, the European negotiating countries.

WTO membership was one of the rewards offered to Iran if it agrees to curb its nuclear program, including refraining from enriching uranium -- something that was not agreed on Wednesday.

Still, the Americans "had positive instructions from their capital" on Iran's WTO ambitions that were directly linked to Tehran's decision to continue talks with the Europeans, said one official, speaking to the AP from a European capital.

Less tangible than WTO membership -- but potentially even more important to Iran -- is the potential good will created by its decision to stick with the talks just weeks ahead of a key meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency that will pass judgment on Tehran's nuclear record.

A breakdown of the EU-Iran talks would have fed U.S. hopes of having the June 13 board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency refer Tehran to the U.N. Security Council for nuclear activities that Washington insists show an attempt to build weapons.

IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky on Thursday welcomed Iran's decision to keep talking with the Europeans, saying the result of a continued freeze by Tehran of enrichment "is an important part of the confidence-building process."

But Iran had few other options. Despite public bravado, it fears the threat of Security Council action; its decision to refrain from resuming some enrichment-linked activities came only after warnings by the three European powers that they would support such U.S. efforts.

Now Iran is expected to exploit its decision to continue talks as a way to blunt dissatisfaction with foot-dragging on other nuclear fronts.

A senior diplomat familiar with the latest details of a three-year IAEA probe into Iran's nuclear dossier told the AP that Tehran has refused all of the agency's major requests since the last board meeting in March.

The diplomat, who demanded anonymity because of his sensitive position, said these include IAEA calls:

-- to ratify an agreement that would give the agency added clout in its nuclear probe.

-- for renewed access to Parchin, a military site where the United States says Iran may be testing high-explosive components for nuclear weapons.

-- to stop construction of a heavy water reactor -- suitable for extracting plutonium for weapons use -- at the city of Arak.

-- to submit fresh information on imported "dual use" components and equipment that can have civilian or nuclear weapons applications

-- to provide expanded documentation on centrifuge components used to enrich uranium, as part of an agency investigation on whether they were meant to produce material weapons use or for energy, as Iran claims.

-- for more information to help the agency determine the origin -- domestic or imported -- of weapons grade uranium traces on centrifuges bought on the nuclear black market.

Some help on the last issue is being provided by Pakistan. Diplomats told the AP on Thursday that the IAEA had received centrifuge components a day earlier from Islamabad for testing that could help agency experts determine whether the traces of highly enriched uranium came in on black market equipment originating from Pakistan or was a result of activities within Iran.

"Testing and analysis of the (Pakistani) samples is under way," Gwozdecky said, refusing further details.