WASHINGTON (JTA) — Iran’s counter-offer to the West proposes comprehensive international nuclear disarmament, reconstituting the United Nations and addressing the rights of the Palestinians.
The counter-offer to U.S.-led efforts to engage in diaolgue, relayed to Western diplomats on Wednesday, was obtained by ProPublica, an investigative Web site.
President Obama reached out to Iran in April in a bid to persuade the Islamic Republic to end its suspected nuclear weapons program; administration officials have said they will assess the success of the outreach this month in consultation with other major powers. If Iran is perceived as not taking the outreach seriously, enhanced sanctions could be triggered targeting Iran’s energy sector.
The five-page counter-offer does not mention Iran’s own nuclear program. Instead it proposes "putting into action real and fundamental programs toward complete disarmament and proliferation of nuclear, chemical and microbial weapons."
It also proposes addressing global poverty, reforming the U.N. Security Council — where major powers currently hold veto power — and helping "the people of Palestine to achieve all-embracing peace, lasting security and to secure their fundamental rights."
