July 19, 2007
For almost four years the governments of Great Britain, France and Germany - supported by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Javier Solana - have been negotiating on behalf of the European Union to contribute to a diplomatic solution to the international conflict over Iran's nuclear program. Up to now, these efforts have not led to a viable breakthrough. Quite to the contrary, Iran has successfully extended those contested nuclear activities - the enrichment of uranium, reprocessing and heavy-water technology - which can be used both for the production of peaceful energy and of nuclear weapons.
In June 2006, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany agreed on a last package offer to Iran.For the first time, it included higher economic and political incentives as well as a concrete threat of non-military sanctions in case of no agreement. When Tehran subsequently rejected this last offer, the international community embarked on a course of escalating sanctions in the Security Council, without, however, taking the June 2006 package off the table.
This dossier traces and analyzes the European and international efforts to solve the conflict over Iran's nuclear program. The focus is on European diplomacy as Iran also poses a challenge to the EU's ambitions to become a global actor beyond economic affairs. By analyzing those factors which have obstructed a diplomatic breakthrough so far, the dossier also aims to provide a solid base line to assess the latest developments and the prospects for a diplomatic solution.
The file includes:
- An analytical assessment of European diplomatic efforts from September 2003 until present;
- A tabular chronology (including links to relevant documents);
- A chronological overview describing the distinct phases of European and international diplomacy since 2002/2003;
- A comprehensive press review from the "Weekly Digest" at Deutsche-Aussenpolitik.de;
- A bibliography of online and offline articles;
- A compilation of the most relevant official documents;
- A Glossary (explaining the most important technical terms of the Dossier).