Iran Signals Disinterest in Nuclear Deal

Regime Envoy Says Country Wants to Buy Fuel for Nuclear Reactor, Which Would Undermine U.S.-Backed Deal on Uranium

(CBS/AP)  Iran wants to buy ready-made fuel for its research reactor, a senior Iranian envoy said Monday - the latest indication that Tehran is rejecting a U.S-backed plan that would have the Islamic Republic ship most of its enriched uranium out of the country.

"We want to buy the fuel from any supplier," said Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's chief representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Soltanieh, however, evaded a direct answer when asked if that meant Iran was rejecting an international plan to have Tehran export most of its enriched uranium stockpile and have that material shipped back as fuel for its research reactor.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said earlier Monday that Iran had not rejected the U.N.-backed uranium shipment plan.

Mottaki told reporters in Kuala Lumpur that Iran conveyed its stand to the International Atomic Energy Agency two days ago.

The plan aims to delay Iran's ability to make nuclear arms by sending most of the material needed to make weapons out of the country. Tehran says its nuclear program is peaceful and needed to generate energy for its growing population, but other nations, including the U.S., fear the program aims to develop nuclear weapons.

"We are ready for the next round of technical discussions to make sure that our concerns ... are taken into consideration," Soltanieh told The Associated Press.

He said the Iranian proposal created a "historical juncture" for countries discussing an enrichment deal with Iran to "prove their political goodwill."

Since its clandestine enrichment program was revealed seven years ago, Iran has amassed more than 3,300 pounds of low-enriched uranium at its cavernous underground facility at Natanz. It is also under U.N. sanctions for its nuclear program.

With Iran needing fuel for its research reactor, the six world powers trying to persuade Iran to ease suspicions about its nuclear activities had suggested that Russia take most of the Islamic Republic's low-enriched uranium and enrich it to the higher level needed to fuel the reactor. France would then turn this material into fuel rods for the Iranian facility.

If Iran exports most of its enriched uranium, its ability to make the core of a nuclear warhead would be delayed.

But the U.S, Russia and France failed at Vienna talks late last month to persuade Iran to accept.

Instead, Tehran signaled it wanted to hold on to most of its enriched uranium and either buy fuel abroad instead, or possibly enrich what it had inside the country to the higher level needed for the Tehran reactor.

A third possibility floated by Iranian officials was that the country would send out a small amount and wait for that to be returned as research reactor fuel before sending out the next small amount.

But those options were voiced either by parliamentarians or unnamed officials. Soltanieh's comments appeared to be the first concrete statement of what Iran wanted.

None of these options are acceptable to the West. Tehran says it is enriching only to make fuel for a future network of nuclear reactors, but the West fears Tehran's "breakout capacity" - the ability to reconfigure its enrichment operation and turn its low-enriched material into fissile, weapons grade uranium.

If Iran agreed to ship out 70 percent of its enriched stockpile, as demanded by the West, it would no longer have enough to turn into nuclear warhead material - at least not for the year or so that it would need to replenish its stockpile.

The plan drawn up by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei plan would commit Iran to turn over more than 2,600 pounds of low-enriched uranium - more than the commonly accepted amount needed to produce weapons-grade material.

[ibsteve2u]

All of the nuclear powers - with the exception of the U.S. of A. - were enabled by either traitors acting out of a misguided concept of conscience or capitalists-who-were-just-making-a-buck-it-is-only-business-you-know-type-traitors.

The vast majority of the knowledge and equipment required to develop nuclear devices was distributed by the latter.

Is why I laugh when the righties say that capitalism is the only "good" system...that is bullhockey; there are far too many people - especially among those types who make up our right - that believe that the profit motive - capitalism - justifies anything.

Any system will work - if you can keep a lid on the evil, greedy types.

Our Republicans represent the absence of that lid, just as Israel's right does, or Iran's hard-core fundamentalists do, or al Qaida does.

Giving any of them access to weapons that can cause mass destruction is just stupid...suicidal, even.

[6591Hou]

The playbook is as old as diplomacy - stall the talks, delay - delay - delay, give an inch, move back two inches - in the mean time finish doing what they're trying to talk you out of doing. PLO, China, North Vietnamese, Soviet Union all played this game and won at it because the diplomats talk and nobody acts until it's too late.

[jwesel1]

Israel has been playing this game since 1949, carving up the Palestinian land and building settlements all the time while pointing that "we want to vacate the land but the settlers won't agree".

[6591Hou]

jwesel1-
And this story had what to do with Israel? Nothing?

[smoknmirrors]

One question for the pundits of Oz. When Obama fails, as you hope he does and as you predict he will, and Iran, North Korea, Palestine, Afghanistan, China and Russia succeed in his place (since failure for one means success for its opposite), exactly which is it you hope for your neighbors, co-workers, relatives, families and friends here in the U.S.?

[brian1920]

Obama has no clue how to deal with these people. The world is getting more dangerous by the day. Putin is not going to do anything but make a fool of Obama because he wants the Middle East to erupt in conflict so oil, his oil, is $400/b. Obama is in over his head and is being played for a patsy.

[BeckieBest]

Iran will have a nuclear weapon and there is little, if anything, we can do about it because we've squandered our wealth, military muscle, and our credibility in the Iraq debacle.

Thanks Bushies!

[Marc_1986]

You're funny.

[Crazy-92]

They have nuclear weapons, will think about it, the US is not that stupid enough not to have any too right, so I bet ya when our enemy launch those nucs, the US will launch there's too.

[brian1920]

The Iranians, North Koreans, Russian and Chinese are all outsmarting Obama and making him look like the fool he is. Putin will never support sanctions on Iran because he needs a war in order to make his oil worth $400/b. Obama is in over his head.