Clinton Demands Iran Accept Nuclear Deal As Is

Vows US Will Never Allow Changes to Proposal

Though Iran has expressed interest in a draft proposal for third party uranium enrichment, they have also sought additional talks and a handful of clarifications before finalizing the pact. The US appears to be ruling out any additional talks however.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now demanding that Iran accept the existing draft immediately “as is” and has said that under no circumstances would the US consider any alteration of the deal, which would see 70 percent of Iran’s uranium exported for further enrichment.

The idea of third party enrichment was initially proposed by the Iranian government, and was in principle endorsed by the US and the rest of the P5+1. Iran has expressed reservations about the draft deal which the first two rounds of talks netted, primarily France’s involvement.

Iran is proposing instead to ship the uranium in stages rather than all at once, presumably to limit their risk of loss if what they send isn’t returned. Western officials appear to have only agreed to the pact over their desire to get their hands on Iran’s uranium stockpile however, and Secretary Clinton is drawing a line in the sand today insisting that nothing else will do.

This however is likely to make Iran all the more suspicious over the West’s intentions, and more reluctant to endorse the existing draft without significant alterations.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.