Tehran - Iran is refusing to send its low-enriched uranium
abroad for further processing, the influential head of
parliament's national security and foreign policy committee was
quoted as saying on Saturday.
"We do not want to give part of our 1 200 kilos of enriched
uranium in order to receive fuel of 20% enrichment," Alaeddin
Borujerdi told the ISNA news agency.
"This option of giving our enriched uranium gradually or in
one go is over now. We are studying how to procure fuel and (Ali
Asghar) Soltanieh is negotiating to find a solution," he said
of Iran's envoy to the UN atomic watchdog.
Last month, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed
ElBaradei brokered a deal between Iran, France, Russia and the
United States to supply much-needed uranium to a research reactor
in Tehran.
Further talks
But while Moscow, Paris and Washington all quickly approved the
plans, Tehran said it wanted amendments and further talks.
Under ElBaradei's proposal, Iran would ship out most of its
known low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment. The
material would then be turned into fuel for the Tehran research
reactor by France.
On Friday Iran said it is preparing to give more details on its
response to the international proposals for supplying nuclear fuel
and expects more negotiations, even as Washington warned the time
for talking is over.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Tehran would give the
additional details to the IAEA following the initial response it
gave on October 29.
"We have some more details which we have to give to the
International Atomic Energy Agency," state television quoted
Mottaki on its website as saying.
Options
"We have three options - enrich the fuel ourselves, buy it
directly or exchange our uranium for fuel," he said.
"They (the IAEA and the major powers) have to choose from
these options. Given the need of Iran to have the fuel, my view is
that they will accept another round of discussions."
His suggestion of further talks came despite a warning from US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday that
Washington's patience at Tehran's failure to give its
definitive response was beginning to wear thin.
She called on the Islamic republic to accept unamended the
proposals drawn up by the IAEA.
Pivotal moment
"As I have said, this is a pivotal moment for Iran, and we
urge Iran to accept the agreement as proposed," Clinton told
reporters.
"We will not alter it, and we will not wait forever," she
said.
The IAEA proposal is aimed at allaying Western concerns that Iran
could otherwise divert some of low-enriched uranium (LEU) reserves
and enrich them further to the much higher levels of purity
required to make an atomic bomb.
Tehran strongly denies seeking to manufacture a nuclear weapon, and
says its atomic programme is for purely peaceful
purposes.
AFP |