US-EU Welcome Iran Nuclear Letter

Vienna, Feb 18, IRNA – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and European Union Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton told reporters that Iran's recent letter to Ashton mark a step forward. 'We think this is an important step and we welcome the letter,' Clinton said in a joint meeting with Ashton. She stressed that the major powers were still reviewing their formal response to Tehran's offer. Ashton, who handles contact with Iran on behalf of the 'P5+1' group comprised of the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany, said the letter showed 'a potential possibility that Iran may be ready to start talks.' Iran's letter to Ashton, which was obtained by Reuters on Thursday, proposed resuming the stalled talks and said Tehran would have 'new initiatives' to bring to the table. Iran’s letter was a response to a letter Ashton sent to her Iranian counterpart in October. Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any corroborative evidence to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry. Despite the rules enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down West's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment. Tehran has dismissed the West's demands as politically tainted and illogical, stressing those sanctions and pressures merely consolidate Iranians’ national resolve to continue the path./end