Tuesday November 24, 2009

Iran says needs guarantees to ship nuclear fuel

By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran could consider sending its low-enriched uranium abroad, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, signalling a possible softening of its opposition to a plan aimed at easing Western concern over its nuclear ambitions.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast speaks during news conference in Tehran November 24, 2009. Iran could consider sending its low-enriched uranium abroad, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, signalling a possible softening of its opposition to a plan aimed at easing Western concern over its nuclear ambitions. (REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl)

Last week Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki appeared to reject a U.N.-drafted deal that would see Iran sending low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad for reprocessing.

But Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday that Iran was not opposed to sending LEU abroad as long as it had "100 percent guarantees" of receiving refined fuel in return, for use in a medical research reactor.

Major powers on Friday urged Tehran to accept the proposal brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). U.S. President Barack Obama has warned of more sanctions on Iran, the world's fifth-largest oil producer.

"Nobody in Iran ever said that we are against sending 3.5 percent-enriched uranium abroad. We talked about the process of dispatching fuel," Mehmanparast told a news conference.

"If we say we are looking for 100 percent guarantees, it means that we want 3.5 percent enriched uranium to be sent out under such circumstances that we make sure that we will receive the 20 percent fuel."

Some analysts say hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad favours the fuel deal as a way to shore up his legitimacy after his disputed re-election in June, but that domestic rivals are trying to undermine him by criticising the proposal.

Western officials also suspect that Iran is trying to buy time and avert the threat of more punitive measures by offering to hold further talks on the fuel plan while pressing ahead with its nuclear enrichment work.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, said, according to Iran's Arabic-language al Alam television: "The Islamic Republic of Iran needs objective guarantees for exchanging fuel for its Tehran reactor."

"COMMERCIAL ISSUE"

Mehmanparast said one guarantee could be swapping the fuel inside Iran, English-language Press TV reported. He also reiterated comments by other officials that Iran could buy the fuel it needed for the Tehran reactor or produce it itself.

Western powers agree that Iran has the right to develop a civilian nuclear programme, but want restrictions to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

Iran says its programme is for civilian purposes only and has repeatedly ruled out suspending its uranium enrichment. Refined uranium can have both civilian and military uses.

The draft deal calls on Iran to send some 75 percent of its LEU to Russia and France, where it would be turned into fuel for the Tehran reactor.

Mottaki said last week: "Surely we will not send our 3.5 percent fuel abroad but can review swapping it simultaneously with nuclear fuel inside Iran."

The United States has rejected Iranian calls for amendments and further talks on the deal. Obama has said time was running out for diplomacy to resolve the long-running nuclear standoff.

Jalili said supply of fuel for the Tehran reactor was not a political issue and it was not related to Iran's talks with six world powers -- the United States, France, Britain, Germany, China and Russia.

"It is a commercial issue. Iran has asked the agency to provide it for Iran," Jalili said. "If they can't provide fuel in time and based on Iran's request, then ... we have other options to get fuel."

News Poll

Latest Jobs from Star-Jobs

Latest from StarProperty