United for Peace of Pierce County, WA - We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy.

On Jul. 4, Iran sent a written response to the P5+1 negotiating proposal made on Jun. 14 by Javier Solana, the E.U.'s foreign policy chief. -- Its contents are still unknown, but hopes were raised "that Tehran would give enough ground to allow formal negotiations to begin," the Financial Times reported Saturday.[1] -- The hopes translated immediately into a fall in the price of oil, AP reported.[2] ...

IRAN SENDS WORD ON NUCLEAR TALKS
By James Blitz (London) and Najmeh Borzogmehr (Tehran)

Iran yesterday sent a written response to an offer from the world's leading powers regarding its nuclear program, amid hopes in the West that Tehran would give enough ground to allow formal negotiations to begin.

Nearly three weeks after the international community presented an updated package of economic and political incentives to Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment program, the Iranian leadership spelled out its formal answer in a letter to Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief.

Senior diplomats in Brussels were last night waiting for the letter, after Saeed Jalili, Iran's nuclear negotiator, telephoned Mr. Solana to tell him it had been sent.

European diplomats said it was impossible to judge the nature of Iran's reply until they had the letter. However, a spokeswoman for Mr. Solana said Mr. Jalili's tone in the phone conversation had been "positive and constructive."

Iranian media reported Mr. Jalili as saying that Iran's answer "focused on commonalities and a constructive and innovative view."

Western diplomats believe that Iran's response will be critical in determining how the next phase of negotiations between Iran and the international community plays out.

If Iran responds positively, both sides might move to the first stage of negotiations, called "freeze for freeze." This would see Iran freezing any expansion of its uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. However, it would be able to continue the uranium enrichment process. The international community would, in turn, freeze moves to apply further sanctions on Iran.

Western diplomats insist that this phase can last no more than six weeks before Iran comes under pressure to suspend the enrichment process altogether. But some suspect that Iran might demand that the "freeze-for-freeze" phase lasts longer.

A diplomat from one of the six countries involved in talks with Iran -- the U.S., U.K., France, China, and Russia, plus Germany -- said it was unlikely Iran would give a clear-cut answer in its letter. "The Iranians will play for time, it won't be a straightforward response."

If, however, the response is deemed insufficiently positive, pressure will mount for a new round of United Nations sanctions in the autumn. It would also add to the growing speculation that Israel might bomb Iran's nuclear facility before the end of the year.

Mohammad-Ali Jafari, the chief commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, yesterday said Iran would take any strike against its nuclear sites as the "beginning of war" and warned that Iran's retaliation would cause aggressors "regret."

The West's offer, made on June 14, has heightened debate inside the Iranian regime, with pragmatists drumming up support for the start of negotiations.

Ali-Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader, this week said Tehran should consider taking up aspects of the offer. Mr. Velayati subsequently said he was not talking about the specific proposals but rather suggesting that negotiating with world powers was acceptable.

The offer: the package offered -- by the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany -- to Iran last month lists a range of political and economic rewards that Tehran would receive if it suspended uranium enrichment. The international community would help Iran build a state-of-the-art nuclear reactor to help deliver its energy needs. Freeze for freeze: while U.N. resolutions demand a complete suspension of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme before negotiations could begin, the latest international offer included the proposal of a pre-negotiations phase. During this six-week period, Iran could go on enriching uranium but not expand the program by adding new centrifuges. In return, the U.N. Security Council would not consider adding new sanctions against Tehran.

Oil prices fell more than $1 a barrel Friday from record levels set a day earlier on hopes that tensions surrounding Iran's nuclear program could ease and cut the chances of American or Israeli military action against OPEC's second-largest oil producer.

Iran on Friday gave an undisclosed response to an international offer of economic and other incentives if it suspends a central part of its nuclear program.

Iran's ambassador to Belgium presented the response to European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Brussels, Iranian state TV reported.

By late afternoon in New York, light, sweet crude for August delivery fell $1.04 to $144.25 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

There was no floor trading Friday in New York because of the July Fourth holiday.

Crude futures reached a record high of $145.85 in New York on Thursday before settling at a record close of $145.29 a barrel. Trading volumes were lower than usual.

In London, Brent crude futures fell $1.15 to $144.93 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Suggestions by Saudi Arabia's oil minister that his country doesn't plan to boost production helped bolster prices earlier in the session.

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Naimi said Thursday in Madrid that the world's biggest oil exporter had no immediate plans to boost crude output because there was no need to do so.

Naimi said Saudi Arabia is ready to raise production if the kingdom determines supply-and-demand fundamentals have changed. But for now, "all our buyers are satisfied and happy," he said.

Gains by the dollar Thursday against the euro helped keep oil prices from rising further. The greenback strengthened after the European Central Bank raised its benchmark interest rate an expected quarter point but signaled it didn't expect additional rate hikes that might further boost the euro.

On Friday, the dollar was mixed. The euro slipped to $1.5679 from $1.5699 on Thursday while the dollar edged down to 106.65 Japanese yen from 106.77 yen.

A falling dollar has helped boost oil prices this year as investors often buy commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation when the greenback weakens. Also, a struggling dollar makes oil less expensive to investors overseas.

Oil prices are rising amid a drop in stock prices worldwide, with the major stock market indices all down by double digits since the start of the year.

Recent saber-rattling in the Middle East is another reason for this week's increase. Traders are concerned that a conflict with Iran could disrupt tight global supplies.

In other Nymex trade, heating oil futures fell 3.59 cents to $4.0701 a gallon while gasoline prices were down 2.38 cents to $3.5472 a gallon. Natural gas futures lost 0.9 cent to $13.568 per 1,000 cubic feet.