World leaders welcome Iran's pledge on its nuclear program as positive
World leaders welcome Iran's pledge on its nuclear program as positive
Agence France-Presse, Kuta, Indonesia
World leaders headed by U.S. President George W. Bush joined on Wednesday in applauding Iran's pledge to comply with strict international demands regarding its nuclear program.
Bush called Iran's commitment to meet International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requirements for a tighter inspections regime, full disclosure of its past nuclear activities and a suspension of uranium enrichment a "very positive development."
The United States suspects Iran is using a program which Tehran claims is purely peaceful to covertly develop nuclear weapons, and U.S. officials earlier stressed that Washington was expecting complete compliance with an IAEA deadline of Oct. 31 to come clean on its plans.
"It looks like they (Iranians) are accepting the demands of the free world and it's up to them to prove they've accepted the demands. It's a very positive development," Bush told reporters on the Indonesian island of Bali.
Iran made the promise after an unprecedented diplomatic shuttle by the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain to Tehran, and Bush said he wanted to thank them for "taking a very strong universal message to the Iranians that they should disarm."
"Japan believes Iran's decision was a positive step," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
"But Iran must quickly implement the decision and all other measures required by the IAEA," Fukuda said.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, current chair of the European Union, announced the "positive outcome" of the diplomatic mission to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
He recalled that an EU summit last week had urged Iran to "sign, ratify and implement promptly and unconditionally" the additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty allowing snap inspections of nuclear sites.
"This development ... will help create the conditions on which the Brussels (summit) agreed were necessary to foster cooperation with an important partner for the stability of the region," Berlusconi added.
Nikolai Shingaryev, top spokesman for the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry, told AFP, "We welcome this decision, this is a positive step."
Russia is building Iran's first nuclear plant, Bushehr, in a US$800 million deal and the Iranian pledge should ease U.S. pressure on Moscow over its assistance.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan "welcomes the declaration agreed in Tehran," but he also "encourages the Iranian authorities to further cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to resolve all outstanding issues with the agency," a spokesman said.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called the deal he helped broker "an important step forward," and France's Dominique de Villepin said it was an "important step in Iran's commitment to the struggle against proliferation".
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said that "everything depends now on the implementation" of the accord which "offers a great opportunity for Iran and that should not be missed."
While making no concessions, the three ministers tried "to open to Iran the path of return into the international community", Fischer added.
Iranian President Mohammed Khatami hailed the European Union's drive to engage in dialog with his country.
"I welcome the coming of the three ministers. This not only shows their wish to have relations with Iran but also their wish to contribute to peace and stability in the region," the president said.
"I hope we can move forward and remove tensions in the region," Khatami added.
A lone dissenting voice came from Iran's arch-foe Israel, whose chief of military intelligence warned that the "Iranian nuclear program will reach its point of no return within 10 months," after which "international diplomatic measures will not be able to stop the program."
If it does not meet the IAEA demands, Iran risks being referred to the UN Security Council, which could decide to implement sanctions.