Iran offers US share in nuclear programme: report

Nice play by the Iranians. This is an interesting opprotunity if the Iranians are serious. They are asking to be recognized as a regional power in exchange for thawed tensions and a 50-50 share of their nuclear program. I think the US should take them up on it. It gets us back in the country, it will show that, at least on the surface, we're not the would-be imperialist Chavez et. al. have made us out to be and it would rebrand us a country that is backing the multipolar world the Europe has been craving. Once we're in there and we start meding ties we might even get Iran to back away from Israel via Hezbollah.

However, this could absolutely be a ruse but if it is and we're in the country already then we'll have the moral authority to attack if something goes drastically wrong a la the Iranian Revolution. In a weird way it's kind of win-win for us from a leverage point of view. This from Reuters:

LONDON - Iran is prepared to offer the United States a half share in any future nuclear programme to demonstrate it is not pursuing atomic weapons, a senior Iranian official was quoted on Wednesday as saying.

The Financial Times said it was unclear how far the remarks of Hossein Kazempour, Iranian governor to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and an energy adviser to the government, represented the policy of Teheran.

“I am telling you that the Americans can come and have 50-50 (of an Iranian nuclear programme),” Kazempour was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

“This offer is on the table. But they have their suspicions. This could be removed by their presence (in the programme).”

US President George W. Bush has accused Iran of trying to secretly develop nuclear arms. Teheran rejects the charge and says its nuclear programme is solely for electricity generation.

The Financial Times quoted Kazempour as saying Iran was committed to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said Washington must change its policies towards Iran and recognise Teheran as a regional power if relations were to improve.

In a policy shift last week, the United States offered Iran economic incentives to try to persuade it to scrap nuclear work which could be used to make atomic bombs.

Washington said it would drop its opposition to Iran’s membership of the World Trade Organisation and the sale of civilian aircraft parts to Teheran as part of a coordinated strategy with the European Union.

Iran has dismissed the US offer as insignificant.

Failure to abandon any sensitive nuclear activities would see Iran’s case referred to the U.N. Security Council, which could impose sanctions, US officials say.

Washington broke ties with Iran in 1980 after its embassy in Teheran was taken over by students who held 52 captives for 444 days. Billions of dollars of Iranian assets were seized and progressively tighter restrictions imposed on US investment and the sale of US products in Iran.

Tentative rapprochements over the years have petered out quickly. Bush branded Iran part of an “axis of evil”, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism as well as secretly developing nuclear bombs.