Ahmadinejad: Iran Ready to Deal if Threats Stop

Iran Suggests New Openness to Enriched Uranium Deal

by Jason Ditz, December 18, 2009

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggested that the Iranian government remains open to the third party uranium enrichment deal, potentially even the one that would have it deliver a massive portion of its low-enriched uranium to Russia
in one batch.

“From the outset, delivering 1,200 kilos of uranium was not a problem for us,” Ahmadinejad insisted. The sticking point, he says, is the repeated threats by the US and other Western nations.

Though the third party enrichment deal initially showed promise, internal debate in Iran slowed approval and the US reacted with repeated threats and a blanket condemnation in the IAEA, threatening new sanctions against the nation and potentially even a military strike.

Iran has been enriching uranium to 3.5% for use in its Bushehr nuclear power plant, but also seeks more highly enriched uranium for medical isotopes. The IAEA has repeatedly confirmed that none of Iran’s uranium is being diverted to any unapproved purpose.

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