World leaders welcome Iran's pledge on its nuclear program as positive<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Kuta, Indonesia<\/p>\n
World leaders headed by U.S. President George W. Bush joined on
\nWednesday in applauding Iran's pledge to comply with strict
\ninternational demands regarding its nuclear program.<\/p>\n
Bush called Iran's commitment to meet International Atomic
\nEnergy Agency (IAEA) requirements for a tighter inspections
\nregime, full disclosure of its past nuclear activities and a
\nsuspension of uranium enrichment a "very positive development."<\/p>\n
The United States suspects Iran is using a program which
\nTehran claims is purely peaceful to covertly develop nuclear
\nweapons, and U.S. officials earlier stressed that Washington was
\nexpecting complete compliance with an IAEA deadline of Oct. 31 to
\ncome clean on its plans.<\/p>\n
"It looks like they (Iranians) are accepting the demands of
\nthe free world and it's up to them to prove they've accepted the
\ndemands. It's a very positive development," Bush told reporters
\non the Indonesian island of Bali.<\/p>\n
Iran made the promise after an unprecedented diplomatic
\nshuttle by the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain
\nto Tehran, and Bush said he wanted to thank them for "taking a
\nvery strong universal message to the Iranians that they should
\ndisarm."<\/p>\n
"Japan believes Iran's decision was a positive step," Chief
\nCabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told a news conference in Tokyo on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
"But Iran must quickly implement the decision and all other
\nmeasures required by the IAEA," Fukuda said.<\/p>\n
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, current chair of the
\nEuropean Union, announced the "positive outcome" of the
\ndiplomatic mission to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.<\/p>\n
He recalled that an EU summit last week had urged Iran to
\n"sign, ratify and implement promptly and unconditionally" the
\nadditional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
\nallowing snap inspections of nuclear sites.<\/p>\n
"This development ... will help create the conditions on which
\nthe Brussels (summit) agreed were necessary to foster cooperation
\nwith an important partner for the stability of the region,"
\nBerlusconi added.<\/p>\n
Nikolai Shingaryev, top spokesman for the Russian Atomic
\nEnergy Ministry, told AFP, "We welcome this decision, this is a
\npositive step."<\/p>\n
Russia is building Iran's first nuclear plant, Bushehr, in a
\nUS$800 million deal and the Iranian pledge should ease U.S.
\npressure on Moscow over its assistance.<\/p>\n
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan "welcomes the declaration
\nagreed in Tehran," but he also "encourages the Iranian
\nauthorities to further cooperate with the International Atomic
\nEnergy Agency (IAEA) to resolve all outstanding issues with the
\nagency," a spokesman said.<\/p>\n
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called the deal he helped
\nbroker "an important step forward," and France's Dominique de
\nVillepin said it was an "important step in Iran's commitment to
\nthe struggle against proliferation".<\/p>\n
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said that "everything
\ndepends now on the implementation" of the accord which "offers a
\ngreat opportunity for Iran and that should not be missed."<\/p>\n
While making no concessions, the three ministers tried "to
\nopen to Iran the path of return into the international
\ncommunity", Fischer added.<\/p>\n
Iranian President Mohammed Khatami hailed the European Union's
\ndrive to engage in dialog with his country.<\/p>\n
"I welcome the coming of the three ministers. This not only
\nshows their wish to have relations with Iran but also their wish
\nto contribute to peace and stability in the region," the
\npresident said.<\/p>\n
"I hope we can move forward and remove tensions in the
\nregion," Khatami added.<\/p>\n
A lone dissenting voice came from Iran's arch-foe Israel,
\nwhose chief of military intelligence warned that the "Iranian
\nnuclear program will reach its point of no return within 10
\nmonths," after which "international diplomatic measures will not
\nbe able to stop the program."<\/p>\n
If it does not meet the IAEA demands, Iran risks being
\nreferred to the UN Security Council, which could decide to
\nimplement sanctions.<\/p>",
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