Western diplomats say economic sanction are beginning to have an force on Iran, and it may be possible to revitalize the fuel exchange plan if it also accepts broader talks they hope will lead to Tehran approving to curb its enrichment drive. They have prepared clear any new deal must be updated to take into account Iran's enlarged holdings of low enriched uranium (LEU) material which can be used to build bombs if refined much further, and its work to enrich to top levels since February. "I'm afraid there is no sense for these kind of statements," Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh told Reuters when asked about a U.S. media statement that Iran would be required to part with some two metric tons of its uranium stockpile under a correct proposal.
Iran has said it is prepared to meet with the powers involved in efforts to defuse the argument over its nuclear program the United States, Germany, France, China, Britain and Russia afterward this month at a time and place still to be determined. It would be the first such gathering in more than a year and also the first since the United Nations, the United States and the European Union forced harsher sanctions on Iran, the world's fifth biggest oil exporter, earlier this year. But the Islamic Republic is performance no sign of backing down over uranium enrichment work it says is designed to produce electricity but the West suspects has military aims.
The major powers want Iran to suspend all such actions. Iran has every time rejected this demand, saying it is its national right to develop nuclear energy. Last week, the U.S. State Department said Washington and its European allies were ready a new offer to Iran on the fuel exchange, seen as a potential confidence building step. The New York Times said it would need Iran to send about 2,000 kg of LEU out of the country. That would represent a more than two thirds' increase from the amount necessary under a tentative deal a year ago that later collapsed. Iran would also need to stop manufacture of nuclear fuel it is enriching to 20 percent, a key step toward bomb-grade levels, and agree to consult on the future of its nuclear program, the Times said.
Iran has said it is prepared to meet with the powers involved in efforts to defuse the argument over its nuclear program the United States, Germany, France, China, Britain and Russia afterward this month at a time and place still to be determined. It would be the first such gathering in more than a year and also the first since the United Nations, the United States and the European Union forced harsher sanctions on Iran, the world's fifth biggest oil exporter, earlier this year. But the Islamic Republic is performance no sign of backing down over uranium enrichment work it says is designed to produce electricity but the West suspects has military aims.
The major powers want Iran to suspend all such actions. Iran has every time rejected this demand, saying it is its national right to develop nuclear energy. Last week, the U.S. State Department said Washington and its European allies were ready a new offer to Iran on the fuel exchange, seen as a potential confidence building step. The New York Times said it would need Iran to send about 2,000 kg of LEU out of the country. That would represent a more than two thirds' increase from the amount necessary under a tentative deal a year ago that later collapsed. Iran would also need to stop manufacture of nuclear fuel it is enriching to 20 percent, a key step toward bomb-grade levels, and agree to consult on the future of its nuclear program, the Times said.
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