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Bush: Iran's Initial Response to Incentives Package Sounds Positive


President Bush says Iran's initial response to an incentives package aimed at persuading Tehran to stop enriching uranium sounds positive.

Mr. Bush spoke Tuesday to reporters in (the U.S. state of) Texas, as Iran reacted cautiously to the package, saying it contains some positive steps.

But the country's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said the proposal also has ambiguities. He said Iran will examine it in detail.

A U.S. State Department spokesman (Sean McCormack) said Tehran will be given weeks, not months, to consider its reply to the offer.

The spokesman also said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was briefed on the phone by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who presented the incentives package earlier Tuesday to Iran. The spokesman said Solana described his talks with Iranian officials in Tehran as "very useful and constructive."

The five permanent U.N. Security Council members (the U.S., Britain, France, China and Russia) and Germany approved the package, which includes a threat of penalties if Iran refuses to cooperate. A White House spokesman (Tony Snow) said details of the plan will be made public if Iran suspends uranium enrichment.

But the New York Times reported Tuesday the package includes a commitment to assist Iran's civil nuclear program. The paper also said the U.S. would agree to drop sanctions that have prevented Iran from buying spare parts for its aging fleet of American-made aircraft.

The United States and Europe suspect Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons -- a charge Tehran denies.

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