EU makes Iran ‘an offer they can’t refuse’

The European Union said Monday it will propose a "bold package" of incentives, POSSIBLY including security guarantees, to persuade Iran to accept international oversight of its disputed nuclear program.

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"They want to offer us things they call incentives in return for renouncing our rights," Ahmadinejad said Sunday.

But Solana did not appear worried by Ahmedinejad's stand.

"We have said over and over again that we think a diplomatic solution is a good way, and we are going to continue on that line and ... we are going to prepare a very serious package that will make it difficult for them to say no," Solana said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

"It will be a generous package, a bold package, that will contain issues related to nuclear, and atomic matters and maybe necessary security matters," he told reporters.

A document posted on the EU's Web site said the ministers were likely to express the bloc's "preparedness to support Iran's development of a safe, sustainable and proliferation-proof civilian nuclear program, if international concerns were fully addressed."

"We ... have nothing against Iran having nuclear capabilities, if it's strictly devoted to the production of energy, (and) we have said that we would even be ready to cooperate with that," Solana said. "What we think is not appropriate, not acceptable, is to take the other route which is not to produce energy, but to produce arms or weapons."

Other ministers echoed that sentiment.

Nevermind that Tehran has repeatedly denied accusations that it intends to enrich uranium to manufacture weapons and that enriching uranium to produce energy is completely within its rights under the NPT.

This will be an offer the Iranians can't refuse, and we all know what that means.