PARIS -- There has been a breakthrough reported in talks in Paris between representatives from Iran and three European nations concerning Iran's nuclear program. The BBC said a provisional agreement has been reached that must be approved by governments in Iran, Britain, Germany, France and the European Union.
"The agreement will have to be approved at the highest levels of government," Iranian delegation spokesman Hussein Mousavian told Iranian TV. "My impression is that if this is approved by all four parties, we will witness an important change in Iran's relations with Europe and much of the international community in (the) not-too-distant future."
The agreement is the outline of future cooperation between Iran and the EU in political, economic, security and confidence-building spheres, according to Mousavian.
But it was not clear how the negotiators resolved the EU demand that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment activities -- something Iran has repeatedly said it will not do for a sustained period and only with the goal of building confidence between Iran and the international community.
The U.S. government has warned Tehran that if no agreement was reached, Iran's nuclear program would be referred to the U.N. Security Council at the next meeting of the International Atomic Energy Age Board of Governors.
