4897e24a90458210VgnVCM200000e66411acRCRDapproved/thenational/Articles/Migration/2009-Q4Iran has chance to prove itself3897e24a90458210VgnVCM200000e66411ac____US envoy Jeffrey Feltman says country has opportunity to restore world's confidence over nuclear issues.<p>Iran has a real opportunity to restore the international community's confidence regarding its nuclear programme and other outstanding issues following talks with the P5-plus-one this month, according to Jeffrey Feltman, the US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. Mr Feltman said in an interview that although Iran's right to a peaceful nuclear programme was not in dispute, the country's failure to comply with UN Security Council resolutions and its lack of transparency with the International Atomic Energy Agency had caused concern among neighbouring countries and in the West. "We recognise that Iran has the right to civil nuclear power, but with that right comes certain responsibilities," he said.</p> <p>Mr Feltman, a former ambassador to Lebanon, said that to reassure the international community about the nature of its nuclear ambitions, Iran should provide the UN and the IAEA with full access to its nuclear facilities, documents and officials. Once it has been established that Iran's nuclear programme is purely civilian and peaceful in nature, "all kinds of doors will open up", Mr Feltman said, suggesting it could even lay the path for co-operation between Tehran and the United States in the nuclear and other fields.</p> <p>"Iran will be reintegrated into the international community across the board, economically, scientifically as well as its nuclear programme." He said everything possible must be done to ensure a diplomatic solution and avoid confrontation. "No one wants to see a military solution," Mr Feltman said, though he added that the P5-plus-one remains unified and committed to pursuing a "dual-track approach" to Iran if necessary.</p> <p>When asked about statements by Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, regarding the US extending a defence umbrella in the GCC, Mr Feltman said there had been extensive consultation with Gulf leaders. He stressed that US engagement with Iran would not undermine the security of "traditional allies in the Gulf", and added that Bill Burns, the US under secretary of state for political affairs, had gone straight into a meeting with the GCC-plus-three (Iraq, Jordan and Egypt) ambassadors after the Geneva talks to brief them on what had been discussed.</p> <p>Mr Feltman also spoke of the "wisdom" Arab states can provide from dealing with Iran and "how best to address our concerns with Iran to achieve some international objectives without undercutting the security of political interests of the Gulf Arabs and others". The P5-plus-one and Iran met for talks on the nuclear programme in Geneva this month. The US president, Barack Obama, described the talks as a constructive beginning, but said they must be followed by action by the Iranian government.</p> <p>On the sidelines of the talks, the US was able to address a variety of concerns with Iran, Mr Feltman said, among them the issue of missing US citizens thought to be in Iranian custody and Iran's role in Iraq. Mr Feltman said the international community will see the implementation of what was agreed to in principle in Geneva when US, French, Russian and Iranian officials meet in Vienna on October 19 for talks on an IAEA inspection of the uranium enrichment facility in Qom, which was discovered last month, and the possible transfer of Iranian uranium for enrichment abroad.</p> <p>Iran and the United States have not had diplomatic ties for the past 30 years, but under Mr Obama there has been a thaw in relations as Washington has taken a prominent role in UN Security Council meetings and in chairing the IAEA. The P5-plus-one have agreed to meet with Iran again near the end of this month, with the agenda and venue for that meeting still to be set. "So I certainly would not look at the Geneva talks as the only opportunity that the US will have to deal directly with the Iranians bilaterally," Mr Feltman said.</p> <p>Mr Feltman said that in their talks on the sidelines of the Geneva meeting, US officials had told Iranian counterparts Iran needed to be a responsible member of the international community and not interfere in such regional issues as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Lebanon, postwar Iraq and Yemen. "Which means you don't intervene in other conflicts, you don't try to disrupt stability in other countries, so this broad issue is certainly something that the US plans to discuss with the Iranians as opportunities arise."</p> <p>foreign.desk@thenational.ae</p> 175,680YYFOREIGN2009101100000020091011000000100ARhttp://adedit.ad.atl.publicus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091011/FOREIGN/71010987971010987920091011100000000e9ad85ae4eb58210VgnVCM200000e66411ac____3897e24a90458210VgnVCM200000e66411ac____7097e91672448210VgnVCM200000e66411acRCRD56d8cc08b5b58210VgnVCM100000e56411ac____3897e24a90458210VgnVCM200000e66411ac____3a6bccdfc1b58210VgnVCM200000e66411acRCRDImageArticle Asset captionArticle Asset optionb062c69268b58210VgnVCM200000e66411ac____3897e24a90458210VgnVCM200000e66411ac____53a8c4f35ea58210VgnVCM200000e66411acRCRD