Europeans Seek U.S. Help in Iran Talks

The request for a new U.S. overture, made last week, was viewed as another sign that the talks between Iran and European Union representatives had made little headway since the two sides renewed efforts last fall to reach an agreement.

A U.S. official said the request was vague. Several European governments have argued that successful negotiations with Iran hinge on greater American involvement, including an offer to normalize relations with the Islamic Republic and an assurance that the U.S. will not attack Iran.

Tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions, heightened by recent threats and accusations, escalated further Tuesday when Tehran's foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, said his country was determined to pursue the production of nuclear energy, but not atomic weapons.

"Iran, for its part, is determined to pursue all legal areas of nuclear technology, including enrichment, exclusively for peaceful purposes and has been eager to offer assurances and guarantees that they remain permanently peaceful," Kharrazi said at a United Nations conference on nuclear nonproliferation.

Enrichment is a process to concentrate uranium, typically through the use of centrifuges. Lower concentrations of uranium can be used as fuel in a nuclear power plant, but at higher levels they can be used as material for an atomic bomb.

The attempt to wring additional incentives from the United States corresponds with a crucial period for the EU-Iran talks. Iranians will vote June 17 in a presidential election. With efforts to master nuclear technology popular among Iranian voters, the Europeans believe that chances for possible compromise by Tehran will be better after the election.

Washington backs the European negotiating effort, but has declined to go beyond incentives already offered by the administration this year, said a senior U.S. official who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The administration has said it would support Iran's application to join the World Trade Organization and would sell the country spare parts for its aging, American-built commercial airline fleet if Tehran agreed in talks with the Europeans to end its quest for uranium enrichment technology.