Iran, UN Trade Offers as Nuclear Summit Extended

Progress, But No Signs of Breakthrough

Officials have extended the P5+1 talks with Iran in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad for another day, with reports of meaningful progress being made but no breakthroughs yet.

Iran offered a “five-point plan” based on the language of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Exact terms of the offer were not publicly available, but the proposal did emphasize that Iran would retain the right to civilian enrichment of uranium under the NPT.

The P5+1 proposal made a number of demands on Iran, including abandoning all enrichment of uranium at 20 percent (used for its medical isotope activity at the US-built Tehran Research Reactor). The P5+1 was clear that its proposal did not include any reduction of sanctions.

A likely portion of any deal would be the exchange of Iran’s existing 20% enriched stockpile for fuel for the TRR. Such a deal was reached in a previous round of talks, before the US eventually vetoed it. Iran has claimed some success in making fuel rods itself for the TRR, but it is clear they would prefer to outsource it to a nation like Russia.

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.