Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday rejected a potential European offer of incentives, including a light-water nuclear reactor, to give up uranium enrichment. "Do you think you are dealing with a 4-year-old child to whom you can give walnuts and chocolates and get gold from him?" Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in central Iran.
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that Iran was open to any proposal to resolve the nuclear issue as long as it acknowledges its legal and inalienable right to pursue nuclear energy under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Mottaki made the remarks at a meeting with ambassadors and heads of foreign missions in Tehran. "Any offer to peacefully settle Iran's nuclear case should include two points: it should officially recognize Iran's right to nuclear energy under the NPT and ensure enforcement of this right." He said Iran will welcome any proposal that will include the two indispensable components.
European states on Tuesday weighed adding a light-water reactor to a package of incentives directed to persuade Tehran to give up uranium enrichment - or face the threat of U.N. Security Council sanctions.
