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Russia still seeks Iran solution
MOSCOW, Russia -- Russia has said it will continue to probe avenues for diplomatic cooperation with Iran over its nuclear
program but France said that uranium enrichment must be suspended before talks resume.
Speaking a day after Iran responded to a package of incentives offered by world powers for Tehran to roll back its nuclear
program, Moscow said it was time for the international community to seize the initiative.
"Russia will continue with the idea of seeking a political, negotiated settlement concerning Iran's nuclear program, maintaining
the role of the IAEA and rejecting dilution of the principles of non-proliferation," Interfax news agency quoted Foreign Ministry
spokesman Mikhail Kamynin as saying on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The IAEA is the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Vienna-based United Nations nuclear watchdog.
Kamynin said Russia and the four other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany, who are involved in negotiations,
were working out a joint response to Iran's stand.
"It is very important to understand the nuances and grasp constructive elements, if in fact they exist, and work out how to
work further with Tehran on the basis of known proposals of the six countries," Interfax quoted him as saying.
But France said the nuclear program must stop before talks can resume. "I want to point out again that France is available
to negotiate, and to recall that, as we have always said ... a return to the negotiating table is linked to the suspension
of uranium enrichment," Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on Wednesday.
The Tehran government on Monday offered to resume talks about its nuclear program but gave no public indication on whether
it would agree to halt uranium enrichment and reprocessing.
Iran's state-run news agency, IRNA, quoted the country's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani as saying that Iran "tried to
pave the way for fair talks with a logical and positive approach."
"Despite other parties' breach of commitments, the Islamic Republic of Iran has proposed a constructive course," Larijani
said, according to IRNA.
The semiofficial Iranian Fars News Agency quoted unnamed sources as saying the Iranian government had rejected suspension
of its nuclear activities, "but it has proposed a new formula for resolving the issue through talks."
White House officials took a wait-and-see attitude about the Iranian response, which was still being studied.
"Let's let the diplomats take a look at this response before we parse too much here," spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
However, Perino indicated the Bush administration took a dim view of recent statements by Iranian officials that they would
not consider suspending uranium enrichment, which U.S. officials charge could be a prelude to building nuclear weapons.
"The president made very clear to everyone ... that he thinks that that is a mistake and dangerous for the region and the
whole world," Perino said.
Iranian officials have insisted that their nuclear program is solely for peaceful generation of power and that they have no
ambitions to build nuclear weapons.
On July 31, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution giving Iran until the end of next week to agree to suspend its uranium
enrichment program, which would pave the way for the Tehran regime to receive financial incentives.
The United States has also held out the possibility of resuming direct contacts with Iran, more than 25 years after the two
countries broke off diplomatic relations.
However, if the Iranians do not accept the offer, then the U.N. Security Council will discuss a resolution proposing economic
sanctions on Iran.
While such a move is backed by three of the council's permanent members -- the United States, Britain and France -- the two
others, Russia and China, have been cool to the idea and could use their veto to block a sanctions resolution.
The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said Tuesday that the U.S. "will be prepared to submit elements of
a resolution very quickly" if Iran did not accept what he termed a "very generous offer."
"This is a test for the (Security) Council," Bolton said. "We will see how it responds."
Even if Iran rejected suspension of its uranium program in its initial response, some U.N. diplomats were holding out hope
that the Iranians might change their mind before the August 31 deadline set out in the Security Council resolution.
"In between, anything can happen, in between August 22nd and the 31st," said Nana Effah-Apenteng, the U.N. ambassador from
Ghana, which currently holds the Security Council's rotating presidency.
Larijani formally delivered Iran's response to the ambassadors of Germany, France, Britain, Russia, China and Switzerland
during a meeting in Tehran on Tuesday.
Switzerland is representing the interests of the United States because Washington does not have diplomatic ties with Tehran.
Larijani has also discussed Iran's response with the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.
Solana's office issued a statement saying that the document "is extensive and therefore requires a detailed and careful analysis."
"Pending this detailed analysis, I will be in contact with the different key interlocutors and will remain in open contact
with (Larijani)," Solana said.
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Northwest jet turns back; passengers arrested
Airline: Passengers unlatched seat belts, passed cell phones.
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands (CNN) -- Twelve passengers were in custody Wednesday after a Northwest Airlines flight bound for
Mumbai, India, returned to Amsterdam with a fighter jet escort, Dutch police said.
They have not been formally charged, police said. But an airport policeman said authorities have enough information to hold
the 12 for at least three days.
Flight 42 returned to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport "after several passengers displayed behavior of concern," Northwest Airlines
said in a written statement.
In a recording of communications between the pilot and air traffic controllers circulated among Dutch media, the pilot is
asked if he wants fire trucks on the runway when he lands, The Associated Press reported.
"No, sir," he replied, according to the AP.
Some of the passengers pulled out cell phones during the flight and appeared to be trying to pass the cell phones to other
passengers, a U.S. government official said.
In addition, some passengers unfastened their seatbelts while the light requiring they be fastened was still illuminated,
the official said.
That was enough for U.S. air marshals aboard the DC-10 to break their cover. Flight attendants ordered the passengers to heed
the orders of the marshals, the official added.
There was no intelligence indicating the flight was at risk, and authorities are still evaluating how much of a threat the
passengers posed, officials said.
The passengers who were arrested were looking into plastic bags and were busy with their cell phones, an airline source in
Amsterdam said.
The spokesman said the 12 -- whose identities have not been made public -- face preliminary charges, but did not elaborate.
"The flight returned to Amsterdam and landed normally. Northwest is cooperating with the appropriate government officials,"
the Northwest statement said.
The flight, which originated in Northwest's main hub of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Minnesota a day earlier,
returned to Schiphol around noon (6 a.m. ET), about half an hour after it had left the airport, the U.S. Transportation Security
Administration said.
A spokeswoman for Schiphol Airport said the pilot made the request to return to Amsterdam.
There were 149 passengers on board, Northwest said. Flight 42 will be rescheduled for Thursday.
Security has been heightened at airports worldwide after police thwarted an alleged plot to blow up trans-Atlantic flights
using liquid explosives. The alleged plot, which was uncovered by British authorities August 10, involved flights from Britain
to the United States.
The Federal Air Marshal Service does not divulge which flights are patrolled by air marshals.
In general, federal air marshals do not identify themselves to passengers if they believe the crew can handle a situation
without assistance.
Journalist Marijn Tebbens and CNN's Jeanne Meserve contributed to this report.
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