EU TO ENGAGE IRAN

The Swedish EU presidency is ready to talk to or confront Iran over its nuclear programme, characterising as a “provocation” the appointment of a “terror suspect” as the country’s defence minister. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds the EU presidency, said they are willing to response positively to Iran if it wanted to engage Europe. Iran insists its nuclear work is peaceful but Western countries allege that it wants atomic weapons. The UN Security Council has already slapped three rounds of sanctions on the Islamic republic, and pressure is growing for more. To make matters worse, Reinfeldt said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s appointment of “terror suspect” Ahmad Vahidi as defence minister was a provocation. Vahidi is wanted by Interpol for a 1994 attack on a Jewish charity that killed 85 people and injured another 300. Tehran has said it was offering six major powers – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States – new proposals for the basis of fresh talks with them on its controversial nuclear drive. However EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he had not received any such proposals.