EU ministers put pressure on Iran

The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, and two other European foreign ministers flew to Tehran last night expecting to secure a significant concession from the Iranian government in the diplomatic standoff over its alleged secret plan to build a nuclear bomb. In a rare show of European unity, Mr Straw, Joschka Fischer, the German foreign minister, and Dominique de Villepin, his French counterpart, are scheduled to meet Iranian leaders today in a single mission. Their main meeting is with Dr Hassan Rouhani, secretary of Iran's supreme national security council. European officials have gone to Tehran over the past fortnight to prepare the ground and there is optimism that Iranian leaders are prepared to give ground before an October 31 deadline. Iranian officials indicated yesterday that an announcement would be made today clearing the way for an end to months of stalemate. The compromise deal would require Iran to open its doors to intrusive inspections in return for access to civilian nuclear technology and fuel. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations watchdog on nuclear proliferation, is suspicious that Iran has embarked on a covert nuclear weapons programme and set the deadline for Iran to cooperate with IAEA inspectors. Iran denies it is attempting to build a nuclear bomb.