VIENNA (Reuters) – The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief headed on Monday for talks in Washington where he is likely to nudge U.S. officials to consider security assurances for Iran to defuse a crisis over Tehran’s nuclear program, diplomats said.

Mohamed ElBaradei’s trip heightens a diplomatic swirl over Iran as European Union leaders craft incentives for Tehran to stop enriching uranium. Their package will be considered at a meeting of U.N. Security Council powers in London on Wednesday but has already run into U.S. and Iranian skepticism.

Some EU officials, ElBaradei’s International Atomic Energy Agency and many analysts believe Iran could be motivated to stop activity that could lead to nuclear bomb-making only with a U.S. pledge not to try to topple the Islamic Republic’s government.
news.yahoo.com

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