EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton offered Wednesday to meet Iran's top nuclear negotiator “at the earliest opportunity,” after the UN hit Tehran with new sanctions over its nuclear program. Ashton's office said the UN Security Council resolution passed earlier Wednesday “keeps the door open for continued engagement” between the international powers and Iran. Ashton wants to resume negotiations on behalf of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States. “Sanctions are not the endgame or the final solution. They are part of a dual-track approach. We hope that today's decision will bring Iran to the negotiating table,” the statement added. EU High Representative Ashton “reaffirms her offer” to Iran's nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili “to meet at the earliest opportunity on the basis that any discussions include Iran's nuclear program and does not affect the UN Security Council process,” her spokesman said. The UN Security Council slapped broader military and financial sanctions on Iran over its suspect nuclear program, despite opposition from Brazil and Turkey. The US-drafted resolution marked the fourth set of UN sanctions imposed on Iran since December 2006, as the international community has struggled in vain to curb the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions. The West has long accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian nuclear energy program, charges that Tehran denies. “The aim of our efforts is to achieve a comprehensive and long-term settlement which would restore international confidence on the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program, while respecting Iran's legitimate rights to the peaceful use of atomic energy,” the statement from Ashton's office underlined. Brazil and Turkey brokered a nuclear fuel swap deal with Iran, under which it agreed to ship low-enriched uranium to Turkey in return for high-enriched uranium fuel for an Iranian research reactor. But the major powers gave the deal a cool reception. Ashton said the Turkey-Brazil deal was “a step in the right direction, but does not answer all the concerns still outstanding.”
