Diplomats say Iran package gives Teheran some leeway on uranium enrichment

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VIENNA, Austria - World powers are prepared to compromise on a long-standing demand that Iran commit to a prolonged moratorium on uranium enrichment and now are asking only for suspension during talks on Teheran’s nuclear program, diplomats and officials said.

That proposal - and a connected offer to allow Iran to continue with uranium conversion, which is linked to enrichment - was the latest in a series of concessions meant to entice Iran into starting talks and to defuse the possibility of UN sanctions if it remains defiant.

Such changes to the previous stance on enrichment signal a possible readiness by the United States and key allies to accept some limited form of the activity, despite years of warnings from Washington that Teheran was seeking the technology to make nuclear arms.

Since talks between key European nations and Iran broke off in August, the public stance by the European negotiators and the United States has been that Iran must commit to a long-term moratorium as a precondition for talks.