EU says 'no question' for now of changed Iran policy

BRUSSELS - The European Union will pursue its line of offering negotiations to Iran over inducements to halt uranium enrichment while backing moves towards U.N. sanctions, the bloc's negotiator with Tehran said on Monday.

"For the moment the EU position has not been changed and there is no question of its changing. That is the dual-track approach," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters in Brussels.

He was speaking after the U.S. intelligence services said this month Iran had stopped its nuclear weapons programme four years ago. Tehran denies wanting a bomb and says its programme is for purely peaceful means.

Solana has a mandate from major powers to explore the scope for negotiations with Iran. The United States and several EU capitals have also said they expect no change in international policy on Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Because of international concerns that Iran is secretly pursuing nuclear weapons, the U.N. Security Council has imposed two rounds of sanctions against Tehran and demanded that it halt uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for power plants or, potentially, atom bombs.