A consensus among six world powers on offering Iran incentives in exchange for the suspension of its uranium enrichment would open the door for a diplomatic settlement of Iran's nuclear issue, analysts said in Vienna on Friday.

Foreign ministers from the five UN Security Council permanent members, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany, reached consensus on a package of incentives at a meeting late on Thursday to persuade Iran to halting its uranium enrichment activities.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett told a press conference after the meeting that the international community would provide Iran with a package of incentives "which would bring significant benefits" if Iran gave up its current uranium enrichment activities.

Beckett did not give details, but diplomats said the package of incentives included a light-water nuclear reactor and a foreign supply of atomic fuel for Iran, as well as an offer to suspend sanctions against Iran in the UN Security Council.

It also carries penalties that can be applied by the United Nations Security Council if Tehran does not cooperate.

Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the package would be presented to Iran within days.

Analysts here said that before Iran was hauled to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions, there were still diplomatic means to settle the issue.

Iran indicated its willingness recently to resume negotiations with the European Union, on the condition that its right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy is guaranteed.

The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, also said on Tuesday that Iran had not reached the point where it could pose a nuclear threat to the international community.

The UN watchdog chief also proposed to allow Iran to have limited uranium enrichment activities under a tighter supervision of the IAEA.

Diplomats predicted that Iran would probably make some concessions, either coming to terms with the IAEA framework, or entering direct negotiations with the United States.

Diplomats here told Xinhua that the newly-reached consensus also offered much leeway for the international community to settle Iran's nuclear issue by diplomacy, and now the ball was in Iran's court.

How Iran reacted to the package would set the tone for the future development of the issue, they added.

However, difficulties still persisted as Iran's security interests clash with those of the United States in the region, analysts warned.

TU.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday that Washington would like to join the European Union in talks with Iran, on the condition that Iran abandoned its enrichment activities first.

The U.S. turnabout on Iran's nuclear issue met applause from the representatives of other countries.

However, analysts struck a more cautious note. They said Washington's precondition for negotiations was probably more aimed at re-establishing its image before its Western alliance and taking a high profile on Iran's nuclear issue.

In response on Thursday, Iran refused any preconditions for talks with the United States, according to its official IRNA news agency.

"Iran welcomes dialogue under just conditions, but we won't give up our nuclear rights," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying.

Until now, there had been no indication that the United States would offer any security guarantee to Iran in exchange for the Islamic republic's suspending its uranium enrichment, therefore, the possibility of hauling Iran before the UN Security Council for possible sanctions still existed, analysts said.

The six countries met on Thursday to clinch a consensus on incentives in Vienna, Austria, after Tehran had defied an April deadline set by the UN Security Council to suspend its uranium enrichment and announced last month that it had succeeded in enriching uranium, and was doing research on advanced enrichment.

Enriched uranium can be used to produce fuel for both power generators and nuclear weapons.

Iran has repeatedly rejected Washington's accusation of its secretly developing nuclear weapons under the cover of civil use, insisting that its nuclear program is designed to generate electricity to meet the surging domestic demand.

The Islamic republic says it will never give up its legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, as enshrined in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Source: Xinhua