Alarm over US 'warplane' that was Iran aid flight

Iran's media had to change its message after claiming a US "warplane" had been forced to land in the country.

The Iran news agency said initially that five senior US military officials had been interrogated at an Iranian airport and released after it became clear that the plane had not entered the country's airspace intentionally.

But the Pentagon said that all its aircraft in the region were accounted for and that it had no reports of an Iran landing.

Iran state TV later reported that the plane was not a US military jet, but had Americans on board. Later still, it reported that the flight had been Hungarian and there had been no American passengers.

It is thought that the plane was being run by an aid agency.

The incident came as Iran accused six major powers of "unreasonable behaviour" over its disputed nuclear programme, although the European Union said today it would stick to a dual approach combining diplomacy with the threat of sanctions.

Tehran's accusation was contained in a letter from its top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, that was delivered to European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana yesterday.

"It's a letter that in a way complains about our policy but our policy is clear. It's a double-track approach," Solana told Reuters in Berlin on Tuesday.

Asked whether the letter would make negotiations with Iran more difficult, Solana replied: "It's just a letter."

The United States and other western powers suspect Tehran is seeking a nuclear bomb under cover of its civilian nuclear programme. Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, denies it has any such intentions, saying it only wants to generate electricity.

Jalili's letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, was addressed through Solana to foreign ministers of the six-power group consisting of the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany.

In June, the six gave Iran a beefed-up offer of political and economic incentives, including nuclear reactors, in exchange for suspending its uranium enrichment programme.

Iran responded at the time with a non-committal letter. The group of six handed the United Nations Security Council a toothless draft resolution on Iran's nuclear programme in September after Washington, facing stiff Russian opposition, failed to secure agreement for fresh sanctions.

"In the judgment of the world community, this unreasonable behaviour is an indication of the lack of a clear response to the principled questions of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Jalili said in the letter.

Iran has shown no sign of compromise, vowing to resist U.S. "bullying" to force it to abandon its right to develop peaceful nuclear technology. Enrichment is at the heart of the dispute because it can be used either to provide reactor fuel or - if the uranium is purified to a much higher degree - to supply the fissile material for a nuclear bomb.

Jalili said "logical behaviour" by major powers could pave the ground for constructive talks to remove international concerns over the country's nuclear work.

Solana, representing the six powers, and Jalili last discussed Tehran's nuclear programme by telephone in August.

"It is interesting ... to see that in the course of talks ... the other party (the major powers) ... resorts to levers of pressure instead of offering answers to questions and trying to remove ambiguities," Jalili said.

A senior Iranian official said Jalili's letter would also be delivered to the Swiss embassy in Tehran on Tuesday. Switzerland represents US interests in Iran since Washington severed ties with Tehran shortly after its 1979 Islamic revolution.

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