Iran Urges West to Accept Enrichment Deal

Diplomats Say Deal Unlikely as US Still Presses for Sanctions

by Jason Ditz, May 24, 2010

The Iranian government today reiterated its support for a third party enrichment deal negotiated last week with the Turkish and Brazilian governments, and urged Western nations to support the move.

The deal is materially the same one the Obama Administration endorsed just a few months ago and was demanding that Iran agree to as recently as last month, but the US has condemned the deal, demanding Iran submit the offer formally for consideration by the IAEA, which they did today.

But diplomats familiar with the situation say that the prospect of a deal is very unlikely, particularly as the Obama Administration moves forward with plans to sanction Iran which were nominally designed to punish them for not agreeing to the deal in the first place.

The deal would have Iran send 1,200 kg of its 3.6% enriched uranium abroad in return for a promise to return fuel rods for its medical reactor at a later date.

The current official line is that Iran “isn’t serious” about the deal because they have already attempted to enrich uranium to the levels needed to make the fuel rods themselves, though these efforts have been very limited and Iran has verbally pledged to abandon the 20% enrichment if and when an alternate source of fuel for its medical reactor, the source of isotopes for nuclear medicine for hundreds of thousands of Iranians, is found.

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