Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, right, and Spain's Minister for Foreign Affairs Josep Pique

TEHRAN, June 18 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Iran Tuesday hailed the agreement of the European Union (EU) to open talks on a trade and cooperation agreement with Tehran as a "step forward". Whereas the U.S. said it wanted assurances from the EU that any move to boost economic ties with Iran would be contingent on changes in the Islamic republic's behavior.

"This negotiation is a step forward," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi, the official news agency IRNA reported.

He stressed that "dialogue is the essence of Iran's foreign policy, and Iran has always advocated a dialogue with the European Union on the basis of mutual respect.

"The Islamic Republic would welcome any move to broaden Iran-EU relations without any preconditions while at the same time taking into consideration the sensitivities of the two sides," he said, quoted by IRNA.

Asefi said a trade pact "could turn out to be an appropriate framework to institutionalize bilateral cooperation on issues of mutual interest with a view to securing common interests".

At a meeting in Luxembourg, EU Foreign Ministers reached political agreement Monday, June 17, 2002, on a mandate to open talks with Iran on a trade and cooperation agreement that would also include a political annex.

Closer EU contacts with Iran is seen in European capitals as crucial for bolstering security in and around the Middle East, the Gulf and Central Asia including Afghanistan.

But prior to Monday, there was disagreement over the scope of the negotiating mandate, with some member states favoring a more politically-focused pact with Iran that would have taken longer to hammer out.

However, the United States sounded more cautious, and even dissatisfied with the warming up of relations between Iran, dubbed part of the U.S. President’s “axis of evil”, and the EU.   

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said U.S. and European officials frequently consulted on the matter and that Washington expressed concern about the EU improving trade ties with Iran, unless Tehran took steps to earn such a step.

"We have made quite clear in these discussion our grave concerns about Iranian behavior," he said, noting Iran's (alleged) support for international terrorism, its opposition to the Middle East peace process, its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and missiles and its human rights record, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"It has been our understanding that any economic incentives for Iran would be linked to improvement in Iranian behavior on these areas of concern," Boucher told reporters.

"We are continuing to consult closely with European officials regarding Iran policy and we will have to look at any actual business developments in terms of U.S. law," he said.

The United States can impose sanctions against foreign companies doing certain types of business in Iran - particularly oil companies - under several pieces of existing legislation and executive orders.

U.S. President George W. Bush in January identified Iran as one-third - along with Iraq and North Korea - of an "axis of evil" bent on supporting terrorism and acquiring nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

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