IRAN: Iran has agreed to snap inspections of its nuclear sites and has promised to freeze uranium enrichment in what EU foreign ministers hailed as a promising start to removing doubts about Tehran's atomic aims.
But shortly after announcing the breakthrough, a senior Iranian official said Tehran would only halt uranium enrichment - seen by Washington as the core of a possible bid for nuclear arms - for as long as it saw fit.
British, French and German foreign ministers, who flew to Tehran with a carrot and stick approach aimed at convincing Iran to comply with an October 31st UN deadline to prove it has no atomic bomb ambitions, greeted the agreement as an important step forward rather than a breakthrough.
"It's been an important day's work but you can only judge its significance in time and through implementation," the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, told reporters just before leaving the country.
The three EU states, taking a different approach from Washington's more rigid stance towards Iran, recognised Iran's right to develop a nuclear energy programme and held out the prospect of technical help with it.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council chief, Mr Hassan Rohani, said Tehran would probably sign the additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty on virtually unfettered, snap inspections before the November 20th meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board.
According to the declaration, Iran also agreed to implement the protocol before it has been ratified. But Mr Rohani was non-committal on how long Iran would maintain the freeze on uranium enrichment activities.
"It could last for one day or one year: it depends on us," he said. "As long as Iran thinks that this suspension is beneficial for us it will continue and whenever we don't want it we will end it." Enriched uranium can be used to fuel reactors, but if enriched further can be used in warheads.
The IAEA has found arms-grade enriched uranium at two facilities in Iran this year. Iran blames the findings on contamination from parts it bought abroad on the black market. The IAEA has been pressing Tehran to meet the October 31st deadline and its head, Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, has been in Iran in recent days.
Experts said the Tehran agreement, while a positive step, did not mean Iran was in the clear.
"Iran is responding and I think it calls for the US to at least rethink its isolationist policy for Iran," said a former UN weapons inspector, Mr David Albright. "A freeze is good, but what we need is a halt to the uranium enrichment programme if there is going to be a solution to this crisis."
The French Foreign Minister, Mr Dominique de Villepin, told a news conference: "We have achieved this morning important progress and we found a basis for agreement on the three pending issues."
These were: immediate signature and early implementation of additional protocol, full co-operation with the IAEA, and suspension of all uranium enrichment.
According to the Tehran declaration, the EU ministers in turn recognised Iran's right to develop a civilian nuclear energy programme and held out the prospect of "easier access to modern technology and supplies in a range of areas".
But a Western diplomat in Vienna said it might not be enough to prevent a negative report by Dr ElBaradei.
Dr ElBaradei has warned Iran's case could be sent to the Security Council if he cannot verify by November that Tehran has no secret nuclear arms programme.