US reiterates support for EU-3's nuclear talks with Iran

The United States said on Monday that it will continue its support for the European Community to have negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programs.

"We remain confident in our support for the EU-3 process. We believe that is currently the way to go," the State Department spokesman Tom Casey said at a news briefing.

France, Britain and Germany, acting on behalf of the 25-nation European Union, are having negotiations with Iran, seeking its guarantees that it will not use its nuclear program to make weapons, as Washington suspects.

"We certainly believe, and we're united with the European Union, with the Russians and many others, in the view that Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapons capability," Casey said.

On Iran's threat to resume some nuclear enrichment-related activities if its negotiations with the EU-3 fails, Casey said that it would be in clear violation of its suspension pledge and its agreement with the EU-3.

"Obviously, a violation of that agreement with the EU-3 and a violation of their pledge would have consequences, and we'd have to look very carefully at what the next steps would be," he said.

Iran last year voluntarily halted enrichment - a process that can produce nuclear reactor fuel and, when taken to a higher level, material for bombs - to build confidence in negotiations with European powers and avoid UN Security Council referral for possible sanctions.

Iran long has said its November decision to suspend all uranium enrichment-related activities was voluntary and temporary. The EU- 3 has been offering economic incentives in the hope that Iran will turn its temporary suspension into a permanent freeze.

Source: Xinhua