Germany, Britain, France Warn Iran

"We share the worries of the international community," French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told reporters here Tuesday after he and his British and French counterparts met with Kharazi.

"We would like to have full transparency," he added, saying he was "optimistic" Iran would comply with an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolution that leaves the country just 10 more days to prove it is not developping nuclear weapons.

But describing the visit as "a crucial moment", Germany’s Joschka Fischer warned: "If we can agree today it would be a step forward, if not we have a very serious problem."

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said that while the three "all respect the right of any nation to have a civilian nuclear programme", they would not accept Iran being "involved in any kind of proliferation activity."

Iran’s Foreign Minister Kharazi then stepped in to promise "total transparency", and asserted the clerical regime — lumped into an "axis of evil" by the United States — "is not pursuing any illegal activity".

"I emphasized the transparency of our activities, both in the past and in the future. We are ready for full transparency," Kharazi said after he met the three in Saadabad palace, a leafy former imperial complex in the north of the capital now used by the Islamic regime to receive foreign dignitaries.

"But our rights, our security and our prestige must be respected," Kharazi said.

The flying visit of the three ministers — during which they will also meet President Mohammad Khatami and National Security Council secretary Hassan Rowhani — is a climax to months of intense and secretive diplomacy by the EU trio.

It also comes amid mounting tensions between Tehran and Washington as well as speculation that the United States or Israel could be considering pre-emptive military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

In return for Iran’s step to ending the often bitter stand-off, the three have made a general offer of technical assistance. This, diplomats say, could include guaranteeing supplies of nuclear fuel in order to satisfy Iran’s desire for nuclear power while keeping the sensitive nuclear fuel cycle out of the country.

Last month, the IAEA gave Iran until October 31 to turn over a raft of information on its nuclear programme after the discovery by its inspectors of traces of highly enriched uranium at two sites set alarm bells ringing.

The agency also called on Iran to sign an additional protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), thereby giving the UN’s nuclear watchdog more powers to probe suspect sites. IAEA inspectors can currently only make pre-arranged visits.

Iran has already pledged to answer the IAEA’s "outstanding questions".

It says the uranium traces came into the country on equipment bought on the black market, and a foreign ministry spokesman said documents supporting Iran’s position could now be passed to the IAEA after Iran was assured of total confidentiality.

And after talks with IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei here last week and subsequent discussions with IAEA experts, Tehran announced that it is ready to sign the additional protocol.

But another key IAEA demand — that Iran stop enriching uranium — remains a sticking point. Diplomats cautioned that Iranian intransigence on this issue could prevent a breakthrough here.

A failure to meet the conditions before the October 31 deadline could see Iran being declared in breach of the NPT, and the dossier being forwarded to the UN Security Council.

But diplomats say that even Washington recognises this is not a satisfactory option, given that it cannot be assured of winning a consensus there because of Russia’s multi-million dollar construction of a power plant in southern Iran.

Iran has consistently asserted its willingness to cooperate with the IAEA, but has expressed concern that giving the UN watchdog access to its facilities — many of them sensitive and key to national security — would represent a surrender of sovereignty.

Some in Iran’s powerful hardline camp — which pulls many of the real strings of power behind the charming persona of reformist Khatami — have even suggested following the example of North Korea and pulling out of the NPT altogether.