U.S., Europe Eye Iran Nuke Deal

The United States and Europe are ready to compromise with Iran over its nuclear program and have tentatively approved a plan that would allow it to make the gas used to enrich uranium, senior officials and diplomats said Thursday.

The officials and diplomats, who demanded anonymity in exchange for discussing the strategy, said the plan would allow Iran to convert raw uranium into the gas that is spun by centrifuges into enriched uranium. But the actual enrichment would take place in Russia, they told The Associated Press.

Depending on its level, enrichment can be used to generate energy or make nuclear weapons. Iran insists it is interested in the technology only to produce power, but the United States and many other countries fear Tehran wants to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels to use as the fissile core in warheads.

Iran has refused to bow to international demands that it renounce its right to enrichment and related activities and in August resumed the uranium conversion process.

That prompted Britain, France and Germany to break off talks with Tehran meant to dispel fears about its nuclear agenda. It also led a September meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board to approve a resolution clearing the path for Iran's referral to the U.N. Security Council at a Nov. 24 board meeting.

Publicly, both the Americans and the three European nations representing the European Union in the talks have insisted that Iran needed to stop all enrichment-related activity, including uranium conversion, to defuse the threat of Security Council referral.

But a senior European official told the AP Thursday that the EU-Three and Washington were now prepared to allow Iran to continue conversion as long as the gas produced was shipped to Russia and enriched there. That would allow international control over the level of enrichment, ensuring that it was below the levels that can be used for weapons.

A diplomat close to the IAEA confirmed the change in strategy but refused to elaborate.

The official emphasized the plan would not formally be proposed by the Americans and Europeans. Instead, he said, they were looking to the Russians to make such an offer, which they then could approve.

That would give Washington, Paris, London and Berlin a chance to save diplomatic face after months of saying they would not accept conversion, he indicated.