Iran Media Say P5+1 Proposal 'Unbalanced'
Iran media on Wednesday slammed a proposal made by world powers seeking to scale back Tehran's nuclear program as "unbalanced" and failing to address other outstanding issues.
State media, including the Islamic Republic News Agency, all called the proposal made to Iranian officials in talks in Baghdad "outdated, not comprehensive and unbalanced."
Press TV said the package showed the representatives of the world powers "are not serious about negotiating with Iran."
The ISNA news agency said that, in contrast, a counter-proposal made by the Iranian side was "comprehensive... transparent and practical."
It said the Iranian package was so complete that the world powers -- the so-called P5+1 grouping of the five U.N. Security Council permanent members plus Germany -- could reply to them right away.
Negotiators for the P5+1 put forward a proposal that reportedly offered a nuclear fuel swap, the dropping of a looming ban on oil tanker insurance for Iran and the provision of aircraft parts in exchange for Iran halting uranium enrichment to 20 percent.
Iranian officials had gone into the Baghdad meeting hoping for greater concessions from the West, notably a suspension of an EU embargo on Iranian oil that is to come fully into effect on July 1.
The Iranian counter-proposal contained five points covering "nuclear and non-nuclear issues," according to Iranian media.
Iran's Al-Alam broadcaster said that the Iranian delegation believed that the P5+1 proposal "did not comply with the spirit of the Istanbul talks (held last month between the two sides) or the NPT (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) or address fundamental issues."
It said: "The Iranian side wants some adjustments to the P5+1 proposals" so they include "non-nuclear issues, regional cases and Israel's nuclear arsenal."
It added: "The talks are ongoing and serious but the proposals on the table are very divergent."
Source: Agence France Presse
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