The Iranian government delivered a memo to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today clarifying its position on the draft third party enrichment proposal. The contents of the memo were not made public.
But the United States was quick to condemn its contents, with State Department officials declaring that it was inadequate and didn’t technically count as a “formal response,” which the US has repeatedly demanded.
Iran’s response reportedly amounted to a restatement of its previously discussed positions. The nation has expressed discomfort with portions of the draft agreement, but called for additional talks to iron out differences. Primarily at issue is that the current draft has Iran delivering the uranium a full year before receiving the highly-enriched uranium back. The nation has expressed concern that France cannot be trusted to live up to delivering the uranium, intended for medical use, as it previously reneged on other nuclear deals with Iran.
But while the response was used by the US and Britain as an excuse to press for additional sanctions against Iran, China once again rejected the idea, saying further talks were needed and calling for all parties involved to be more flexible.
