BAGHDAD, May 23: World powers pressing Iran to scale back its nuclear programme on Wednesday offered a new batch of incentives that fell short of the sanctions relief sought by Tehran, which made a counter-proposal.

A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, the lead negotiator for the P5+1 – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany – said the proposals made at a meeting in Baghdad were “of interest to Iran.”

The talks was expected to go into a second, unscheduled day on Thursday, an official with the Iranian delegation said.

“There are things we can do for Iran,” Ms Ashton’s spokesman said. “We hope the Iranians will come back with a positive reaction to our proposals to deal with the concerns of the international community”.

The spokesman gave no details but media reports said they included a revival of previous attempts at a deal whereby Iran would ship abroad its stockpiles of enriched uranium in return for fuel for a reactor producing medical isotopes.

The Iranian official, however, noted: “A possible swap of uranium enriched by Iran for fuel isn’t very interesting for us because we are already producing our own fuel.”

Other incentives reportedly included easing Iranian access to aircraft parts and a possible suspension of an EU insurance ban on ships carrying Iranian oil.

But beyond a pledge not to impose any more, the package made no mention of easing the barrage of sanctions that have been piled on Iran — with more to come in July — over suspicions the country wants nuclear weapons.

In return for the sweeteners, the P5+1 wants Iran to suspend 20-per cent enrichment, which they see as the most worrying part of its nuclear activities as the capability reduces the theoretical `breakout’ time needed to get the bomb.

Iranian state media ran reports slamming the P5+1 package, with the Irna news agency calling it “outdated, not comprehensive, and unbalanced.”

Iran made a counter-proposal in the Baghdad talks of “five items based on the principles of step-by-step and reciprocity,” the official with Tehran’s delegation said.

“We said to the other side that we need a comprehensive approach. We need the steps that both sides have to take to be clearly defined and there is no possibility of going back on them,” the official said. “For example, that they lift sanctions that they cannot then readopt two months later under a different pretext.”—AFP