Vienna, October 21: The U.N. nuclear watchdog on Wednesday presented a draft deal to Iran and three world powers for approval within two days to reduce Tehran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, seen by the West as a nuclear weapons risk.
Iran declined to say if it would endorse the plan, which Western diplomats said would require Tehran to send 1.2 tonnes of its known 1.5-tonne reserve of low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Russia and France by the end of the year for conversion into fuel for a nuclear medicine facility in Tehran.
Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) hinted it may seek amendments that diplomats suggested could snarl or kill the deal, because of ‘red lines’ set by the powers to establish confidence Tehran does not seek to acquire nuclear weapons.
“We have to thoroughly study this text and … come back and reflect our opinion and suggestions or comments in order to have an amicable solution at the end of the day,” Iranian Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh told reporters.
“We welcome this event, we are fully cooperating.”
IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei announced the draft agreement after two and a half days of tense talks involving Iran, France, Russia and the United States in Vienna.
But the talks failed to finalize the deal as the IAEA and three powers had pushed for. Iran has engaged in time-buying maneuvers in the past to blunt U.N. demands for curbs on its secretive nuclear program.
“I have circulated a draft agreement that in my judgment reflects a balanced approach to how to move forward. The deadline for the parties to give, I hope, an affirmation action is Friday,” ElBaradei told reporters.
“I cross my fingers that by Friday we have an OK by all the parties concerned,” he said, betraying widespread uncertainty over whether Iran would make a concrete commitment.
The draft plan would reduce the high risk cited by the West of Iran, under suspicion over nuclear secrecy and restrictions on U.N. inspections, covertly refining LEU to the high level of purity suitable for nuclear weapons.
FRANCE LAUDS PLAN
“This is a proposal that suits France and all our partners. Now we have to wait and see if Iran will accept it. They have two days to let us know if it suits them,” said Jacques Audibert, the French foreign ministry’s political director.
The plan was “to remove this (uranium) from Iran, use it to make the fuel they need and thereby improve relations and lower the tensions over Iran’s civilian nuclear program,” he said on France 24 television.
Iran, which says its nuclear energy quest is only for generating electricity, already has accumulated enough LEU for one bomb if it were further enriched. Iran’s enrichment program has approached industrial scale over the past year.
Tehran agreed to the LEU plan in principle in talks with six world powers in Geneva on October 1, then appeared to row back from it. The Vienna talks stalled all day on Tuesday over an Iranian refusal to address the details, Western diplomats said.
—Agencies