Iran threatens to expand uranium enrichment if nuclear swap deal falls through

Iran threatened Tuesday that if additional countries do not agree on a swap deal work out with France and Brazil last year, it would enlarge its own production of nuclear fuel the swap would see Iran's supply of 20 percent, or low-enriched, uranium exchange for nuclear fuel rods from France the medium enriched rods are to be used to fuel a Tehran medical reactor.

"We will not only continue to do the enrichment by ourselves but also build a factory for developed even the fuel rods by ourselves," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Mehmanparast additional that Iran could halt its 20 percent enrichment if the swap was approved.

"As the 20 percent enrichment process is not even economical for us, we would be willing to halt this process and get the essential fuel for the Tehran reactor from abroad," the spokesman said however, if a swap is not made, Iran would have no choice but to carry on producing fuel for the Tehran reactor, which Iran has said is used solely for medical purposes, such as treat cancer patients.

US and Ukraine sign deal to remove uranium

The United States and Ukraine signed a deal Monday to take away the former Soviet country's stockpile of weapons-grade uranium by early next year.Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko represent their nations in signing the agreement to remove the stockpile, which could offer enough material to build several nuclear weapons.

The deal was announce last year at an international nuclear security conference hosted by President Barack Obama but was not dignified until Monday Clinton and Gryshchenko had hoped to sign the deal in July, but it was belated amid Ukrainian reservations, according to U.S. officials among other reasons, Ukraine wanted assurance that the United States would complete a $25 million nuclear research ability called for under the deal.

The research facility will be able to produce 50 different types of medical isotopes, using only low-enriched uranium and Clinton said the U.S. was fully dedicated to meeting the timelines for construct the facility so it would be up and running by 2014.