John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 94: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding negotiations between the EU3 and Iran on nuclear proliferation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26909/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Negotiations between the EU3 and Iran are suspended following Iran's decision of 8 August 2005 to recommence conversion of uranium at its Isfahan facility. This action was in breach of the Paris Agreement signed by Iran and the EU3, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, in November 2004. Under this agreement, Iran, inter alia, reaffirmed that it did not and would not seek to acquire nuclear weapons and committed itself to full transparency and co-operation with the IAEA. Iran, moreover, decided voluntarily to suspend all enrichment and reprocessing activities and to invite the IAEA to verify and to monitor the suspension. In return the EU3 agreed to commence negotiations, with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable agreement on long-term arrangements in the areas of political and security issues, technology and co-operation and nuclear issues.

At the board of governors meeting at the IAEA last month the EU3 co-sponsored a resolution that found Iran to be non-compliant with the agency's statute and reserved the right to refer Iran to the UN Security Council at a future date. Iran has been urged, inter alia, to re-establish full and sustained suspension of uranium conversion and to implement transparency measures, including providing IAEA officials with access to documentation relating to its nuclear programme and also of access to facilities. The resolution also requested the director general of the IAEA to continue his efforts to implement the resolution and previous resolutions and to report back to the board of governors on any developments on issues raised in his September report. On the basis of this future report the board of governors will decide on what further action should be taken with regard to Iran.

The General Affairs and External Relations Council noted earlier this week that the resolution had given Iran the opportunity, through its actions, to influence the international community's next steps and urged Iran to take this opportunity by implementing all the measures requested by the IAEA board. Furthermore, the Council reaffirmed its support for a diplomatic solution and resumption of negotiations within the framework in the Paris Agreement. The Council agreed that such a solution would help create the climate for a better relationship with Europe and the international community as a whole. As I made clear in my statement to the United Nations General Assembly on 19 September, Ireland is fully supportive of the leadership of the EU3 in this matter.