U.S. Is Offering Deals on Trade to Entice Iran

[kpete]

U.S. Is Offering Deals on Trade to Entice Iran

By HELENE COOPER
Published: June 6, 2006

WASHINGTON, June 5 — The European Union's foreign policy director, Javier Solana, arrived in Tehran on Monday night with incentives intended to resolve the nuclear crisis with Iran, including a proposal to allow Iran to upgrade its aging civilian air fleet through the purchase of aircraft parts from an American company, Boeing.

The package, to be presented Tuesday to Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and to Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, is to include waiving trade sanctions against Iran to allow the purchase of American agricultural technology, said European diplomats and a senior Bush administration official.

The five permanent members of the Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — plus Germany, agreed on the package last week in Vienna, but declined to make the proposal public.

more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/06/world/middleeast/06diplo.html?ex=1307246400&en=890fc579e09d44d0&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

[Captain Hilts]

1. 'Positive' incentives usually work better than 'negative' sanctions.

Whether it's countries or prisoners.

[Vidar]

2. Trade incentives from the US are like those smallpox-leaden blankets

we gave the Indians. "Caveat emptor."

[bigtree]

3. maybe I'm not looking close enough, but Iran seems to be genuinely

considering the offers. I like not making the offers public. That seems to be playing well.

Still pessimistic, though.