http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19250729-23109,00.html

IRAN is ready to give up uranium enrichment on its territory for several years as part of a deal to allay Western fears over its nuclear program, the chief UN nuclear watchdog said today.

But Mohamed ElBaradei, who met in Vienna last week with Iran's top nuclear negotiator, said the question of Tehran's sensitive atomic research activities was still under discussion.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19315641-23109,00.html

IRAN does not pose an immediate nuclear threat and the world must act cautiously to avoid repeating mistakes made with Iraq and North Korea, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency said today.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19336952-23109,00.html

WORLD powers converged on Vienna today for talks on how to resolve the Iran nuclear crisis, strengthened by a US decision to join in direct talks with Tehran if it agrees to suspend uranium enrichment.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5037678.stm

Six major world powers have agreed a package combining incentives and penalties to try to induce Iran to curb its nuclear programme.

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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19339400-29277,00.html

Iran could have a nuclear bomb by 2010, the leading US intelligence official said today.

Calling Tehran "the principal state sponsor of terrorism in the world," Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte told BBC radio Iran seemed determined to develop nuclear weapons.

"The estimate we have made is that sometime between the beginning of the next decade and the middle of the next decade they might be in a position to have a a nuclear weapon which is a cause of great concern," he said.

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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19379646-23109,00.html

EUROPEAN Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana arrived in Tehran late today to hand an international nuclear proposal to Iran's leadership.

The offer set to be presented by Solana has been drawn up by Britain, France and Germany, and is backed by the United States, Russia and China.

http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,19379677-31037,00.html

WORLD oil prices rose overnight after Iran warned of disruptions to global energy supplies if the Islamic republic was forced to halt its controversial nuclear program.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19379620-23109,00.html

THE White House called Iran's threat to disrupt oil supplies "theoretical", and said Tehran should be given time to consider incentives from major powers in exchange for curbing its nuclear program.

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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19392298-23109,00.html

INCENTIVES being offered to Iran as part of negotiations to end a nuclear standoff with the West include access to spare parts needed to renovate its ageing airliner fleet, Iranian officials said today.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19392276-23109,00.html

PROPOSALS today by six world powers to end a dispute over Iran's nuclear fuel enrichment had positive points but also some "ambiguities" that must be removed, Tehran's chief negotiator said.

IN a major concession, the United States is prepared to provide Iran with some nuclear technology if it stops enriching uranium, diplomats say.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19387056-23109,00.html

IRAN'S chief nuclear negotiator said today that proposals offered to Iran from six world powers to end a nuclear stand-off had some positive points but also some "ambiguities" that had to be taken out.

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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19408417-23109,00.html

IRAN'S hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today rejected any negotiation on the kind of nuclear technology Iran wants to use, after the international community put up an offer for Tehran to suspend its uranium enrichment.

THE United States is demanding that Iran suspend its nuclear enrichment program while it negotiates with the world's major powers.

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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19414468-23109,00.html

IRAN began a fresh phase of uranium enrichment this week just as world powers presented it with incentives to halt nuclear fuel work, according to a UN nuclear watchdog agency report.

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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19447455-23109,00.html

IRAN'S government said it would not negotiate over its right to enrich uranium, the nuclear-fuel making process which six world powers have demanded Tehran stop to benefit from a package of incentives.

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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19481804-23109,00.html

SUPREME Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's highest authority, said Iran would not yield to pressure from the West, which wants Tehran to stop sensitive nuclear work, state radio reported today.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19485279-23109,00.html

THE United States and Europe urged Iran to suspend uranium enrichment to show it does not seek atomic weapons as Washington warned of security council action if Tehran did not comply.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19486966-23109,00.html

THE White House said that the proposal meant to end the crisis over Iran's nuclear programs was heavy on incentives to freeze sensitive nuclear activities, not possible punishments for refusing.

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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19587956-23109,00.html

IRAN on Sunday again brandished oil as a weapon in a dispute over its nuclear program, with the Islamic republic continuing to resist international demands to freeze sensitive uranium enrichment work.

SOUTH Korea urged Stalinist North Korea quickly to allay international concern about its nuclear and missile programs, saying the fear they provoke is destabilising the region.

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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19778024-23109,00.html

IRAN'S president said today the country would not abandon its right to nuclear technology in a defiant statement after Tehran's case was referred back to the United Nations Security Council.

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Yesterday the Security Council approved a resolution giving Iran until the end of August to cease it nuclear enrichment. Exactly what the next step will be if it refuses is unclear. Russia and China opposed the term "sanctions" in the present resolution, although Russia has indicated it might accept them come September.

The United States already has sanctions in effect against Iran, so there is little it can do short of a naval blockade to help enforce such sanctions. Such an action is essentially an act of war.

Estimates are that Iran is still about seven years from producing nuclear weapons, so we can still hope that cool heads will prevail on both sides.

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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20025633-1702,00.html

IRAN will not stop its controversial nuclear work despite a UN resolution calling for a halt by month's end, the Islamic republic's deputy foreign minister told Latin American television overnight.

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