Reports Denied of Iran’s Plans to Offer Fordo Closure

Unnamed Source Says Iran Doesn't Plan New Proposal

New questions are growing about the accuracy of yesterday’s Der Spiegel report, which cited diplomats saying Iran is planning to announce a new offer to suspend uranium enrichment at the Fordo facility in return for an end to international sanctions.

The Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) is now quoting an unnamed “informed source” as saying that Iran is not preparing to close Fordo, nor does it intend to present any new offers during Rohani’s September visit to the UN General Assembly.

Interestingly for a report that made the rounds very publicly, no Iranian official has publicly disputed the plan, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, discussing the matter today, said Iran intends to be “flexible” during the talks.

The Fordo “offer” may ultimately just be a test balloon to gauge Western receptiveness to a deal, though with Iran phasing out its production of 20 percent enriched uranium, a process mostly moved to Fordo in the past year, the facility may indeed be expendable without compromising Iran’s civilian nuclear capabilities.

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.