The European Union proposes to persuade Iran to cease enriching uranium.

By handing them a nuclear reactor.

After all, this strategy failed miserably in North Korea, so why not give it another try? Nuclear Accord Eludes Iran and Europeans. (Hat tip: The Word Unheard.)

The Europeans laid out the difficulties in the talks on March 10 in a confidential, four-page status report that acknowledged that “progress is not as fast as we would wish.”

But the report added that recent international support for the European negotiating process, particularly from the United States and Russia, “has strengthened the prospects for a satisfactory outcome.”

The report said that the Europeans were proposing that Iran acquire a light-water research reactor to replace a planned heavy-water research reactor, which is designed to produce plutonium that could be used to fuel weapons.

According to weapons specialists, plutonium is often preferred to enriched uranium for compact warheads on missiles because it takes less to produce a significant blast. Light-water reactors are considered better for producing electricity than plutonium.

The Europeans are considering dispatching teams of specialists to Iran to investigate the possibility of providing it with such a reactor, a European negotiator said. That plan would ultimately require American support because some of the technologies needed are barred by United States restrictions.