This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/8249822.stm

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
US rejects Iran nuclear proposals US rejects Iran nuclear proposals
(40 minutes later)
The US says it is unhappy with the package of proposals submitted by Iran on Wednesday aimed at breaking the deadlock over its nuclear ambitions.The US says it is unhappy with the package of proposals submitted by Iran on Wednesday aimed at breaking the deadlock over its nuclear ambitions.
Philip Crowley of the US State Department told the BBC the measures do not address the status of Iran's nuclear programme. A senior US State Department official said the measures do not address the status of Iran's nuclear programme.
The US wants Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment programme which it says could be used for nuclear weapons.The US wants Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment programme which it says could be used for nuclear weapons.
Iran says its nuclear programme is for civilian use. Russia was more positive about the proposals and ruled out the possibility of sanctions on Iran's oil sector.
Non-proliferation Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the proposals offered something to work with.
"Our concern is that the response itself did not really address what is the core issue of the international community and the core concern, which is Iran's nuclear ambitions," Mr Crowley told the BBC's World Today programme. Iran has always insisted its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only.
Earlier, Mojtaba Samareh, a close aide to the Iranian President, told the Washington Post newspaper his country would not give up its nuclear programme but was willing to work with the international community to eliminate nuclear weapons. In its five-page proposal, Tehran offers to hold "comprehensive, all-encompassing and constructive" negotiations on a range of security issues, including global nuclear disarmament.
Based on a brief review of the Iranian papers my impression is there is something there to use Sergei Lavrov Russian Foreign Minister But the document, delivered to Western powers on Wednesday, makes no mention of Iran's own nuclear programme.
On Wednesday, the US envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Glyn Davies, said Iran could already have enough low-enriched uranium to produce a bomb, if it was further enriched.
Differing opinions
"Our concern is that the response itself did not really address what is the core issue of the international community and the core concern, which is Iran's nuclear ambitions," Philip Crowley, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, told the BBC's World Today programme.
Some of the sanctions under discussion... are a step to a full-blown blockade and I do not think they would be supported at the UN Security Council Sergei Lavrov Russian Foreign Minister
Mr Crowley said Iran had to prove it was ready to live up to commitments it had made.Mr Crowley said Iran had to prove it was ready to live up to commitments it had made.
"One of the questions going forward will be to test the Iranian interest in actual engagement, either with the United States or the international community and obviously a core concern is in fact its nuclear programme," he said."One of the questions going forward will be to test the Iranian interest in actual engagement, either with the United States or the international community and obviously a core concern is in fact its nuclear programme," he said.
Iran hopes the proposals - to be reviewed by the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany on Friday - will head off new international sanctions. But Russia's foreign minister saw the Iranian proposals as a positive step forward.
Russian reaction "Based on a brief review of the Iranian papers my impression is there is something there to use," Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow.
Russia has given a more positive response than the US to Iran's latest proposals.
Iran insists its rocket building programme is for satellites
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said they contained something to work with.
"Based on a brief review of the Iranian papers my impression is there is something there to use," Mr Lavrov said in Moscow.
"The most important thing is (that) Iran is ready for a comprehensive discussion of the situation, what positive role it can play in Iraq, Afghanistan and the region.""The most important thing is (that) Iran is ready for a comprehensive discussion of the situation, what positive role it can play in Iraq, Afghanistan and the region."
The BBC's Bridget Kendall, in Moscow, said his comments left little doubt that Russian and Western approaches to Iran continue to diverge. Sanctions threat
Finding common ground for a united response to the latest Iranian proposals may prove tricky, she adds. Iran's proposals have been published on the website of ProPublica, a US-based independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism.
US warning Among other things, Tehran calls for an end to hostilities and talks on issues such as drug trafficking, security in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
US President Barack Obama warned Tehran earlier this year that Washington wanted to see a positive response to its friendlier overtures by the end of September. Iran insists its rocket building programme is for satellites
If not, Mr Obama said the US was prepared to press for new sanctions against Iran. Iran hopes the proposals - to be reviewed by the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany on Friday - will head off new international sanctions.
But Mr Lavrov added that he did not think the UN Security Council would support oil sanctions against Iran. Mr Lavrov said he did not think the UN Security Council would support oil sanctions against Iran.
"Some of the sanctions under discussion, including oil and oil products, are not a mechanism to force Iran to co-operate, they are a step to a full-blown blockade and I do not think they would be supported at the UN Security Council," he said."Some of the sanctions under discussion, including oil and oil products, are not a mechanism to force Iran to co-operate, they are a step to a full-blown blockade and I do not think they would be supported at the UN Security Council," he said.
Details of Iran's latest proposals have not been revealed. But US President Barack Obama warned Tehran earlier this year that, unless Washington saw a positive response to its friendlier overtures by the end of September, he would be prepared to press for new sanctions against Iran.
On Wednesday, the US envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Glyn Davies, said Iran could already have enough low-enriched uranium to produce a bomb, if it was further enriched. The BBC's Bridget Kendall, in Moscow, says Mr Lavrov's comments leave little doubt that Russian and Western approaches to Iran continue to diverge.
Finding common ground for a united response to the latest Iranian proposals may prove tricky, she adds.