US to give Iran incentives for shunning nukes

President Bush agreed to offer modest economic incentives to Iran in exchange for Tehran's abandoning its nuclear enrichment program, two senior administration officials said Thursday.

The three European countries leading diplomatic talks with Iran were expected to announce their side of the deal first on Friday, followed later in the day by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's announ-cement of the US decisions.

As recommended by the European leaders who have been negotiating with Iran, the incentives include possible membership for Iran in the World Trade Organisation and the sale of commercial aircraft parts to Tehran.

In exchange for offering incentives, the United States obtained a firm agreement from Britain, France and Germany to refer the matter to the UN Security Council for sanctions if Iran does not permanently drop its nuclear program, said the two officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

The United States agreed not to oppose talks on WTO membership for Iran a process that normally takes years and to permit the aircraft part sales, they said. The part sales would be considered on a case-by-case basis, one official said.

The European countries wanted US support on the theory that a united front was most likely to persuade Iran to comply. So long as the United States remained apart, Iran would delay meaningful steps to end its nuclear program, the Europeans argued.

They also argued that the United States risked looking like the odd man out if the Europeans did win a nonproliferation deal. The Europ-eans urged the United States to join the talks, but the Bush administration wanted to remain at arm's length from Iran. Iran and the United States have not had diplomatic relations since 1979, when Iranian militants occupied the US Embassy in Tehran and held its staff hostage.

The administration has opposed any reward for Iranian activities the administration views as a violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The treaty bars Iran from enriching spent nuclear fuel to make it suitable for nuclear weapons.