Iran finds stumbling block in EU's offer

Pressure grew on Iran yesterday to reply to a big power offer to defuse a standoff over its nuclear programme, as Washington hoped a meeting of the UN atomic watchdog would garner world support for the initiative.

As the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met, Iran insisted on its right to enrich uranium but did not reject outright the package of incentives to halt such work presented by UN Security Council powers last week.

Iran began a new round of enrichment on the day it got the package last week. A senior Iranian official said the move was "technical, not a provocation" But Washington said it pointed up a need to get Iran to say yes or no to the offer soon.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who visited Tehran last week to hand over the batch of trade, technological and security incentives for Iran to halt nuclear fuel work, said he expected contact from Iran by this weekend.

Washington's IAEA envoy said the ball was in Iran's court, urging it to shelve nuclear fuel work - which the West suspects is a disguised atom bomb project - to qualify for incentives and avoid the risk of sanctions if it rebuffs them.