European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana will soon present Iran with the incentives agreed by major powers to try to persuade Tehran to end nuclear fuel development, his spokeswoman said today.
Iran said the plan might offer a way forward, but insisted it would not give up uranium enrichment -- which the West is demanding as proof that it is not developing nuclear weapons.
The incentives were agreed on Thursday by the permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China -- plus Germany.
Solana's spokeswoman, Cristina Gallach, and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said no date had been set for the trip. However, Solana plans to be in the Middle East on Sunday and on Monday.
The incentives being offered by the six powers were still unknown, but their diplomats have been working on themes ranging from offering nuclear reactors to giving security guarantees.
"We believe if ... there's goodwill then there's a possibility that our ideas may complete the proposal and give them (Westerners) a way out of the situation they have created for themselves," Mottaki said on state television.
However, he added: "The main pillar of the talks is that they should be free from preconditions."
Iranian politicians habitually use the word "precondition" for demands that Iran end its fuel work. Mottaki and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have said there is no question of this, insisting on a right to make fuel for power generation.
Ahmadinejad on Friday night told UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that Iran was willing to negotiate on nuclear issues as long as talks had no "preconditions of threats", state media reported.
Washington says this must not be seen as a final rejection, and that Iran could be staking out a negotiating position.
Iran has a labyrinthine command structure and comments from the president and the foreign minister may not be the last word on political matters.
Iran's main authority is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Supreme National Security Council, headed by chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, is directly charged with handling the nuclear dispute.
Analysts see the proposals from the world powers and a rare US offer to enter into direct talks with Iran as attempts to build a united diplomatic front for possible later action in the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions.