Iran says nuclear talks to resume with Brazil, Turkey

June 29, 2010

Reuters

Iran said on Tuesday it would soon resume nuclear talks with Turkey and Brazil -- a tentative first step back to international negotiations after Tehran was hit with a new wave of sanctions over its disputed nuclear work.

Iran has belittled the U.N., U.S. and European sanctions and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday he would return to long-frozen talks with world powers but on certain conditions only, and not before the end of August.

His foreign minister said talks would start before then with the two countries with which it agreed a nuclear fuel swap deal in May -- echoing a U.N.-brokered pact that Tehran backed out of late last year -- and which voted against the U.N. sanctions.

"There were some contacts with the foreign ministers of the three countries (Iran, Turkey and Brazil)," Manouchehr Mottaki told a news conference. "A joint meeting is on the agenda and we will announce it in the coming one or two days."

Iran has held no substantive talks with world powers since the deal in principle on the fuel swap struck with Russia, France and the United States in October.

The pact would have seen Iran sending 1.2 tons of low-enriched uranium (LEU) -- about 70 percent of its stockpile at the time -- abroad in exchange for specially processed fuel rods needed to keep the Tehran medical research reactor running.

In a turnabout, Iran agreed in talks in May with Brazil and Turkey to part with 1.2 tons of LEU. But by then Iran's LEU reserve had doubled in size, devaluing the swap's terms in Western eyes since it would no longer divest Iran of enough LEU to prevent its use for an atom bomb, if refined to high purity.

So the May agreement proved too little too late to prevent a new batch of punitive sanctions from the United Nations, European Union and United States.

Meanwhile, Iran has increased suspicions abroad by launching enrichment up to a level of 20 percent purity, asserting this will yield raw material for making the reactor fuel rods without foreign help -- but at the same time advancing much of the way down the road toward weapons-grade enrichment.

NEW IRANIAN CONDITIONS

Russia, which backed the U.S.-led push for further sanctions but has since complained about the United States and the European Union issuing stricter unilateral measures, said on Tuesday it wanted to get back to talks with Tehran.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he wanted talks between Iran, the United States, Russia and the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency focusing on providing Iran with reactor fuel rods so it would need to escalate enrichment itself.

"In the wake of the Brazilian and Turkish initiative, Russia, along with the United States, approached the director of the IAEA and proposed we arrange a meeting of technical experts from our three countries, including Iran, to discuss the possibility of supplying fuel for the experimental reactor in Iran, so that there will be no need for Iran to enrich the uranium to a level of 20 per cent," Lavrov said.

"I hope very much that Iran will respond positively and that this will help prevent the situation from deteriorating," he told reporters during a visit to Israel, which considers Iran's nuclear campaign an existential threat.

On Monday, Russia complained to the U.N. Security Council about what U.N. diplomats said was Germany's seizure of items bound for a nuclear power plant in Iran, saying such moves were "not in line" with U.N. rules.

On June 19, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that France was ready to talk with Iran at the IAEA "without delay," using the Tehran declaration by Iran, Brazil and Turkey as a starting point [ID:nPAB008398].

The West fears Iran's nuclear work is aimed at developing the means to build bombs because of its history of secrecy and restricting IAEA inspections. Tehran says it will be solely for generating electricity and isotopes for medicine and farming.

Ahmadinejad has called on the major powers to "clarify" three things before talks could resume: their attitude to Israel's alleged nuclear arsenal, their stance on commitments to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and whether they come to the table as Iran's friend or its enemy.

World powers were likely to dismiss such conditions as irrelevant to the main issue -- Iran's refusal to negotiate limits and transparency with respect to its nuclear activity.

"Somehow implying there's a linkage between the Iranian issue and the Israeli issue ... will certainly not make life easier," said a Western diplomat versed in the Iran issue.

"Saying that as a punishment that they only want talks in the third week of August -- this is posturing which we shouldn't take too seriously ... We need to wait for Iran's official response on the (swap) plan and the offer of talks from the EU."

(Additional reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman in Moscow and Sylvia Westall in Vienna; Writing by Robin Pomeroy and Mark Heinrich; editing by Janet McBride)

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65S31520100629

New sanctions could mean confrontation: Iran

June 02, 2010

AFP

BRUSSELS — Fresh international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme could lead to confrontation, foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned during a visit to Brussels on Wednesday.
"There are two options," to resolve the problem, he told an audience at the European Policy Centre think-tank.
"The first is based on cooperation, the other is based on confrontation," he said on the second and last day of his visit to the Belgian capital.
"The resolution" at the United Nations Security Council on imposing new sanctions against Iran "is a basis for confrontation," he warned.
"That is not our preferred option but that's up to other parties who would like to move in that direction," Mottaki added.
Last month the United States introduced a draft resolution at the UN to impose tough new sanctions on Iran.
The draft resolution would expand an arms embargo and measures against Iran's banking sector and ban it from sensitive overseas activities like uranium mining and developing ballistic missiles, a US official said.
Western powers fear that Iran's atomic programme is a cover for a nuclear weapons drive.
Tehran denies this, saying the programme is aimed at peaceful energy use, which it insists it has the right to pursue.
Iran is already subject to three sets of UN sanctions for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, one of the crucial steps towards the production of nuclear energy for civil or military use.
Mottaki stressed that Iran had no intention of giving up its plans of enriching uranium to 20 percent.
Enrichment lies at the centre of international fears about Iran's nuclear programme as the process can make the core of an atom bomb in highly purified forms of over 90 percent.
"It's not against the law," said Mottaki, warning that a new UN resolution would "kill" a recent initiative with Brazil and Turkey
The two countries brokered a deal with Tehran last month under which Iran has committed to deposit 1,200 kilograms (2,640 pounds) of low-enriched uranium in Turkey in return for reactor fuel.
But the deal drew a cool reaction from world powers led by the United States, which is pushing for the new sanctions to be agreed.
Western governments say the deal fails to address concerns about Iran's nuclear programme.
However, Mottaki made it clear that without that deal "definitely we'll continue our production of 20 percent."
On the other hand "if we do not need the 20 percent we won't move into that direction."

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jKj4lWsoUdY7heHwRDwoeEoBzwXQ

UN resolution will kill Turkey-Brazil deal on nuclear issue, warns Iran

June 2,2010

Were the United Nations Security Council to go ahead with new sanctions against Iran, the mediation pushed forward by Turkey and Brazil on the nuclear issue would fall through, Tehran’s foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Wednesday.

Leaders of Turkey and Brazil came to Tehran in mid May to strike a deal that would see Iran transfer 1,200 kilograms of 3.5—per—cent enriched uranium to Turkey, in exchange for 120 kilograms of 20—per—cent enriched uranium destined for a medical research reactor.

“Moving through (the) Security Council a resolution will kill this initiative,” Mr. Mottaki said during an event in Brussels hosted by the European Policy Studies (EPC) think—tank.

The proposed swap would take place under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) but has not convinced the United States and the European Union, which are still pushing for stronger sanctions at the UN.

Both fear the trilateral deal does not offer enough assurances against the threat of Iran using the enriched uranium to manufacture nuclear weapons.

“There are two options: the first option is based on cooperation and confidence building, the other option is based on confrontation.

We do consider moving to a resolution in the Security Council as a base for confrontation,” Mr. Mottaki warned.

“That is not what we prefer, that is not our priority. But it’s up to the other parties who would like to move in that direction,” he added, without mentioning any particular country.

But the foreign minister said that Iran might go ahead with domestic production of enriched uranium even if the uranium swap deal went ahead.

“When we receive our 20—per—cent—enriched uranium ... then we will decide — that is our decision — (whether) it is feasible to find 20—per—cent uranium through exchange or buying or producing. That is our decision,” he stressed.

Still, Mr. Mottaki said he was “optimistic” about the success of the Brazil—Turkey deal, claiming that his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, told him in a telephone conversation on Sunday that he supported the proposal.

Russia is one of the five permanent UN Security Council members that has been dealing with the Iranian nuclear programme in the “5+1” Group. The other countries are the United States, China, France, Britain and Germany.

The EU conducted negotiations with Tehran on behalf of the group, but talks have been going nowhere for years.

During his trip to Brussels Mr. Mottaki had a closed door meeting on Tuesday in the European Parliament, a body which has no say on EU foreign policy. No meetings were foreseen with the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.

Source: http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article444565.ece

Why is the West sceptical about Iran's fuel offer?

By Sylvia Westall

Reuters - Iran has outlined a plan to the U.N. atomic watchdog under which it would give up some of its nuclear material but diplomats say the gesture would have no effect on a push to widen sanctions against Tehran.

Under the plan agreed with Brazil and Turkey last week, Iran would transfer 1,200 kg (2,646 lb) of its low-enriched uranium -- enough for an atomic bomb if enriched to higher levels -- to Turkey within a month.

A year later the Islamic Republic would get special nuclear fuel rods for a medical research reactor which makes isotopes to help treat cancer patients.

Why is the West cautious about this proposal?

TIME LAPSE

Western officials say the landscape has changed in the seven months since they brokered a similar plan with Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a way to ease tensions over Tehran's atomic work.

Iran has continued enriching uranium and taking away 1,200 kg now would still leave Iran with enough for a bomb if it wanted to build one. Tehran says it has no intention of doing this and says its work is for peaceful purposes only.

Some observers say the swap is still worth it because it would remove half the material. Others say the deal has now lost its value because the bomb risk would remain and it fails to build confidence.

HIGHER ENRICHMENT

Iran also started enriching uranium to higher levels in February, saying it wanted to make fuel for the reactor itself, but the move unsettled Western powers because it takes the material closer to the grade needed for atomic weapons.

Tehran said it took the step because it said it was tired of waiting for the original deal to be agreed. Western officials say it was Iran which stalled progress, with a series of new conditions for the swap which it knew would not be accepted.

Iran has vowed that it will not stop its higher enrichment, even if the fuel supply agreement goes through and has started setting up more equipment for it.

Western diplomats have described this refusal to halt higher enrichment as a likely deal-breaker. They also question why Iran would still need to continue this process -- which like its lower-grade enrichment violates U.N. sanctions -- when countries are prepared to give it the fuel rods it says it needs.

They say Iran lacks the capability to make the specialized fuel assemblies in the short-term, so it makes no sense to produce more highly enriched uranium for a reactor that Tehran says will run out of fuel by the end of the year.

LACK OF DETAILS

Unlike the IAEA plan, brokered by former IAEA-chief Mohamed ElBaradei, the new proposal does not included detail on who would make the fuel rods, who will pay for the process and what will happen to the low-enriched uranium stored in Turkey after the swap has been completed, Western officials say.

Without this sort of information, they say they cannot begin serious negotiations on Iran's offer, which many of them see as an attempt to stall sanctions negotiations.

Some Western officials say the Iranian move fits into a familiar pattern of Tehran offering concessions when punitive measures loom.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Diplomats also say that with its promotion of the new proposal, Iran is trying to give the impression that it was the fuel deal which was at the centre of problems with the West, rather than its nuclear ambitions as a whole.

They acknowledge that the original IAEA-plan was always intended as a first step towards resolving the nuclear issue, not a solution.

But they say Iran's lack of cooperation with the agency on questions about its atomic programme and its delay in engaging on the fuel deal, have left negotiators feeling wary.

They also fear that Iran may go back on its word.

Talks over the original deal suffered from internal Iranian disputes. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad first appeared to favour the U.N. deal as a way to shore up his own power.

But he faced stiff opposition from rivals who did not want to see him reap credit for a breakthrough. Some voiced misgivings about parting with the nuclear material, which is seen as a strategic asset.

But analysts in Iran believe Ahmadinejad wouldn't have agreed on this deal without the blessing of the supreme leader.

Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-48881820100528

ANALYSIS - Ahmadinejad loses cool with Russia over sanctions

May 28, 2010

Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent

Reuters - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has never shied away from lambasting Iran's foes. Now he has alienated Russia, which has long helped delay or dilute U.N. sanctions aimed at the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.

The row between Moscow and Tehran reflects long-simmering tensions that came to the boil on Wednesday when Ahmadinejad berated Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for buckling under what he said was U.S. pressure for fresh sanctions.

The Kremlin swiftly chastised the Iranian leader for "political demagoguery" and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday described Ahmadinejad's tirade as "emotional".

He said Iran had for years failed to respond to Moscow's efforts to resolve the dispute over nuclear work seen by the West as having military purposes, a charge Tehran denies.

"Things have been turning sour for a while," said Ali Ansari, an Iran expert at Scotland's St Andrews University, who suggested that Russia was piqued by Iran's acceptance this month of a nuclear fuel swap deal proposed by Turkey and Brazil -- although Lavrov said it would be a breakthrough if implemented.

"If the deal was do-able now, why not back in October when it would actually have meant something in terms of Iran's enriched uranium stocks?" Ansari asked.

Russia and other world powers backed a fuel swap proposal drawn up by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last year after Iran declared it needed fuel for a Tehran research reactor with medical uses. Iran effectively rejected the idea.

Responding to word of last week's deal with Turkey and Brazil, Medvedev said a key question was whether Iran intended to continue enriching uranium.

Tehran has since vowed to do so, removing, in Moscow's view, the main rationale for the fuel swap and perhaps convincing the Kremlin that Iran's only motive is to play for time.

Baqer Moin, a London-based analyst, said it was unclear if Ahmadinejad's outburst had the backing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on nuclear policy.

"The Russians don't take Ahmadinejad that seriously," he said, recalling that when Vladimir Putin visited Tehran as Russian president in 2007 he first held talks with Khamenei.

"But if it was not just an off-the-cuff remark -- and if what is coming from the Russians reflects the Russian state -- then it is a major development in the relationship," Moin said.

"It's a bad sign for Iran because they badly needed Russian influence if not to veto, at least to modify, the (U.N. sanctions) resolution as they have done before."

RUSSIA WARMING TO SANCTIONS?

The United States said last week that Russia and China, which have both resisted sanctions against Iran in the past, had agreed to a draft resolution for further punitive U.N. measures.

Ahmadinejad has long taken a defiant line on the nuclear issue, viewed by many Iranians as a matter of national pride. But he initially supported the IAEA's proposal which called for Iran to ship 1.2 tonnes of low-enriched uranium abroad in return for specially processed fuel for its medical isotope reactor.

He then backed away under fire from conservative and reformist critics at home -- only to seal a similar deal with Turkey and Brazil last week. Ahmadinejad called it a "historic opportunity" which U.S. President Barack Obama should seize.

Western leaders said it was a ploy to avert sanctions and failed to allay their fears because Iran had pledged to go on enriching uranium and even if part of its stockpile went to Turkey it would still have enough fuel for one nuclear warhead.

Mahjoob Zweiri, a Qatar-based academic, said Ahmadinejad must have gained high-level backing for the Turkey-Brazil deal.

"He was reflecting the outcome of an internal debate that took place maybe last week," he said. "In one way or another he had a kind of understanding that this deal will be supported."

Zweiri said Iran had not expected Russia to swing behind the West on sanctions. It was already aggrieved at delays to the start-up of a Russian-built nuclear reactor at Bushehr and uncertainty over an order for Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, which could protect Iranian nuclear sites from attack.

The spat between two of the world's biggest energy producers is among their worst since the Cold War.

Though trade ties have grown over the past two decades, Russia is still regarded with deep distrust in Iran after several wars between Persia and the Tsarist Empire, followed by rocky relations with the atheist Soviet Union.

Moin, the London-based analyst, said it was unlikely that either side wanted a real rift, but if tensions between Russia and the Islamic Republic persisted, other issues could surface.

"So far the Iranians have been silent on Chechnya," he said, referring to Russia's violent struggles with Islamist militants in its mainly Muslim-populated Caucasus republic.

"At the end of the day, Russia is weighing its international interests with the West and Iran -- and obviously choosing the West when the crunch comes," Moin said.

(Additional reporting by Dmitry Solovyov in Moscow; Editing by Dominic Evans)

Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-48850420100527

As Ugly as It Gets

May 25, 2010

The New York Times

I confess that when I first saw the May 17 picture of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, joining his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with raised arms — after their signing of a putative deal to defuse the crisis over Iran’s nuclear weapons program — all I could think of was: Is there anything uglier than watching democrats sell out other democrats to a Holocaust-denying, vote-stealing Iranian thug just to tweak the U.S. and show that they, too, can play at the big power table? 


No, that’s about as ugly as it gets.

“For years, nonaligned and developing countries have faulted America for cynically pursuing its own interests without regard for human rights,” observed Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment. “As Turkey and Brazil aspire to play on the global stage, they’re going to face the same criticisms they once doled out. Lula and Erdogan’s visit to Iran came just days after Iran executed five political prisoners who were tortured into confessions. They warmly embraced Ahmadinejad as their brother, but didn’t mention a word about human rights. There seems to be a mistaken assumption that the Palestinians are the only people that seek justice in the Middle East, and if you just invoke their cause you can coddle the likes of Ahmadinejad.”

Turkey and Brazil are both nascent democracies that have overcome their own histories of military rule. For their leaders to embrace and strengthen an Iranian president who uses his army and police to crush and kill Iranian democrats — people seeking the same freedom of speech and political choice that Turks and Brazilians now enjoy — is shameful.

“Lula is a political giant, but morally he has been a deep disappointment,” said Moisés Naím, editor in chief of Foreign Policy magazine and a former trade minister in Venezuela.

Lula, Naím noted, “has supported the thwarting of democracy across Latin America.” He regularly praises Venezuela’s strongman Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro, the Cuban dictator — and now Ahmadinejad — while denouncing Colombia, one of the great democratic success stories, because it let U.S. planes use Colombian airfields to fight narco-traffickers. “Lula has been great for Brazil but terrible for his democratic neighbors,” said Naím. Lula, who rose to prominence as a progressive labor leader in Brazil, has turned his back on the violently repressed labor leaders of Iran.

Sure, had Brazil and Turkey actually persuaded the Iranians to verifiably end their whole suspected nuclear weapons program, America would have endorsed it. But that is not what happened.

Iran today has about 4,850 pounds of low-enriched uranium. Under the May 17 deal, it has supposedly agreed to send some 2,640 pounds from its stockpile to Turkey for conversion into the type of nuclear fuel needed to power Tehran’s medical reactor — a fuel that cannot be used for a bomb. But that would still leave Iran with a roughly 2,200-pound uranium stockpile, which it still refuses to put under international inspection and is free to augment and continue to reprocess to the higher levels needed for a bomb. Experts say it would only take months for Iran to again amass sufficient quantity for a nuclear weapon.

So what this deal really does is what Iran wanted it to do: weaken the global coalition to pressure Iran to open its nuclear facilities to U.N. inspectors, and, as a special bonus, legitimize Ahmadinejad on the anniversary of his crushing the Iranian democracy movement that was demanding a recount of Iran’s tainted June 2009 elections.

In my view, the “Green Revolution” in Iran is the most important, self-generated, democracy movement to appear in the Middle East in decades. It has been suppressed, but it is not going away, and, ultimately, its success — not any nuclear deal with the Iranian clerics — is the only sustainable source of security and stability. We have spent far too little time and energy nurturing that democratic trend and far too much chasing a nuclear deal.

As Abbas Milani, an Iran expert at Standford University, put it to me: “The only long-term solution to the impasse is for a more democratic, responsible, transparent regime in Tehran. It has been, in my view, a great con game successfully played by the clerical regime to make the nuclear issue the almost sole focal point of its relations with the U.S. and the West. The West should have always followed a two-track policy: earnest negotiations on the nuclear issue and no less earnest discussion on the issues of human rights and democracy in Iran.”

I’d prefer that Iran never get a bomb. The world would be much safer without more nukes, especially in the Middle East. But if Iran does go nuclear, it makes a huge difference whether a democratic Iran has its finger on the trigger or this current murderous clerical dictatorship. Anyone working to delay that and to foster real democracy in Iran is on the side of the angels. Anyone who enables this tyrannical regime and gives cover for its nuclear mischief will one day have to answer to the Iranian people.

By Thomas L. Friedman
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/opinion/26friedman.html

Recon for attack a warning to Iran

May 26, 2010

The Jerusalem Post

Reports that the Pentagon has okayed reconnaissance missions over Iran were seen in Jerusalem on Tuesday as the first public signs of practical preparations for a possible US military operation against Iran. The New York Times reported on Monday that Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in the Middle East, ordered an expansion of clandestine military activity in the region. According to the report, “officials said the order also permits reconnaissance that could pave the way for possible military strikes in Iran if tensions over its nuclear ambitions escalate.”
The article continued that the seven-page directive “appears to authorize specific operations in Iran, most likely to gather intelligence about the country’s nuclear program or identify dissident groups that might be useful for a future military offensive.”

Although it is obvious that the Pentagon has contingency plans for all possible scenarios, one Israeli official said this was “the first time that the public is getting word of practical preparations of military activity.”

The official said that if this was a deliberate leak, then it was clearly an attempt to send a tough message to the Iranians that, indeed, no options – as the US has been saying for months – have been taken off the table.

And even if this were not a deliberate leak, the official added, the impression the information would have on Teheran would still be the same.

Also on Tuesday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Knesset that the deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil last week whereby Iran would transfer 1,200 kilos of low-enriched uranium abroad was “a transparent Iranian ruse meant to divert the international public’s attention from sanctions.”

Addressing the assembled MKs, Netanyahu said the deal, which drew mixed responses from the permanent UN Security Council members and in particular the US, would still leave enough uranium in Iran’s possession to produce a nuclear weapon

“This proposal also guarantees Iran the right to take back at any point the kilograms [of uranium] transferred to Turkey,” the prime minister said, praising Washington for deciding to press forward in its pursuit of a fourth round of Security Council sanctions.

Nevertheless, Netanyahu said that while important symbolically, “I think we all know these sanctions will not stop Iran.”

The prime minister said that “more effective sanctions are being prepared now by the US Congress. They will affect, among other things, the energy sector, imports, exports and other areas. The US will be able to pass these sanctions outside the Security Council or in conjunction with it.”

Teheran, Netanyahu said, must “understand that the international community is determined to prevent it from acquiring nuclear arms.”  

By Herb Keinon

Source: http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=176483

Diplomat says Iran deal flawed

May 25, 2010

ASSOCIATED PRESS AND JPOST.COM STAFF

A Western diplomat speaking anonymously has referred to the proposed uranium fuel agreement between Iran, Turkey and Brazil as technically flawed.

AFP is reporting that the diplomat said, "Getting this fuel in one year is impossible. It takes at least one and a half years to have this." He added, "There is something tricky there, but we will see in a year. It is still too early."

The anonymous diplomat's comments came after Iran formally submitted the fuel swap deal to the International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday.

Seeking to evade new UN sanctions, Iran submitted its plan on Monday to swap some of its enriched uranium for reactor fuel and said the onus was on world powers to defuse tensions by accepting the deal.

The proposal, which was shared with The Associated Press, did not go beyond generalities already outlined last week. Thus, it was unlikely to deter the US, Russia, China, Britain and France — the five permanent UN Security Council members — which have agreed on a draft fourth set of sanctions against Iran for refusing to give up uranium enrichment.

The deal would commit Iran to ship 1,200 kilograms of low-enriched uranium to Turkey, where it would be stored. In exchange, Iran would receive, within one year, higher-enriched fuel rods to be used in a US-built medical research reactor.

Source: http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=176405

Final week of UN nuclear conference has eyes on Iran

May 25, 2010

Agence France-Presse

UNITED NATIONS--A landmark UN conference on fighting the spread of nuclear weapons opened its final week Monday with eyes on Iran's efforts to avoid fresh UN sanctions against its nuclear program.

Iran is seen as a test case for the 189-nation Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), as it claims its nuclear work is peaceful but is under three rounds of UN sanctions to get it to rein in its nuclear program over fears it seeks the bomb.

The NPT conference here was still struggling to formulate a draft final statement, three weeks after opening on May 3.

Committees met Monday on the three pillars of the NPT -- disarmament, monitoring nuclear programs worldwide to make sure they are not used to make weapons, and promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The conference is to finalize a draft final statement later Monday and begin a last run of plenary sessions on Tuesday. It closes Friday.

In an effort to avoid new sanctions, Iran struck a last-minute deal with Brazil and Turkey last week on a nuclear fuel swap.

In Vienna Monday, Iran formally notified the UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency of this deal.

The bargain is for Iran to ship half of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) out of the country in return for higher grade reactor fuel to be supplied by Russia and France.

When the deal was first offered by the IAEA in October, Iran had less of a stockpile of LEU and would have been shipping out two-thirds of the stockpile.

The US had backed the move in order to guarantee that Iran would not have enough uranium on hand to process further for a first bomb.

Iran would still be left at this point with less than it would need to make a bomb. It has promised to ship out 1,200 kilograms (2,640 pounds) of LEU to Turkey in return for the fuel for a research reactor making medical isotopes.

But Western governments say Iran is still not addressing international concerns about its nuclear program.

And a Western diplomat said Monday that the uranium deal has a key technical flaw as it fails to allocate enough time to make the fuel.

¨Getting this fuel in one year is impossible. It takes at least one and a half years to have this,¨ the diplomat told reporters.

He said that might mean Iran could after one year take its low enriched uranium back ¨and then wait for the fuel to come six months later... There is something tricky there.¨

Washington has pressed ahead at the UN Security Council by circulating a new sanctions resolution.

The to-and-fro over Iran has dominated the conference, even if US President Barack Obama's moves towards disarmament, such as a new strategic weapons agreement with Russia, have given Washington increased credibility.

Non-proliferation analyst Rebecca Johnson said "the review conference has a real chance of being able to adopt a constructively useful -- if not fabulously forward-looking) -- outcome."

Sticking points include whether to set a deadline for disarmament, something nuclear weapons state resist and which is almost certain not to be in any final document.

Another thorny matter is an Egyptian-led proposal to set up a nuclear weapon-free zone in the Middle East.

US and Egyptian officials have been meeting on this for almost two months and will be seeking a compromise in New York that would allow Israel to take part.

Israel is not against such a zone but says it can only come after a peace agreement for the region.

Egypt is promoting the zone, however, as a way to move towards peace, especially since Israel is allegedly the only nuclear weapons state in the Middle East.

Other major areas of dispute at the NPT conference are whether to make tougher nuclear inspections mandatory for all member states and how to penalize states, such as North Korea, that withdraw from the treaty in order to make the bomb.

The NPT, which went into effect in 1970, is in crisis over these issues.

The previous NPT review in 2005 failed to reach agreement but the atmosphere has been better this time around in the twice-a-decade meetings.

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20100525-271973/Final-week-of-UN-nuclear-conference-has-eyes-on-Iran

Iran ready for new chapter of co-operation' - UN envoy

May 25, 2010

Barbara Plett

BBC UN correspondent

Iran says its nuclear fuel deal proves it is ready to open a new chapter of cooperation with the West. In an interview Tehran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) urged the UN Security Council to respond positively. Ali Asghar Soltanieh was speaking to the BBC on the day that Iran officially outlined the details of the fuel exchange to the the UN's nuclear watchdog.

So far Western powers have said the agreement is too little too late, and are pursuing sanctions against the Islamic state.

Removing stockpile
The fuel swap was first proposed last October as a confidence building measure by the IAEA along with America, France and Russia (the so-called Vienna Group) on behalf of six world powers who believe Iran's trying to acquire nuclear weapons.

The West suspects Iran would have nuclear material left over. It involves exchanging 1,200 kilograms of Iran's low enriched uranium for special nuclear fuel rods needed to power its medical research reactor. For the six powers the advantage was in removing Tehran's stockpile of fissile material, thus slowing down any possible moves to build a bomb.

Iran sought amendments for eight months and then finally agreed to the transfer, following a high level intervention from Turkey and Brazil. The new element is that the low enriched uranium (LEU) would be deposited in Turkey as a guarantee that Iran would get the promised fuel rods.

'Maximum concession'

"We are not sure unless this fuel is in the core of the reactor that such a thing will actually happen," Mr Soltanieh said, indicating that deep suspicions linger from America's failure to honour nuclear contracts after the 1979 Iranian revolution.

Once the rods materialise, the LEU "deposit" will go to whichever state supplies the uranium to make them, possibly Russia, he said. He called this a "maximum concession" and urged the Vienna Group to "seize this unique opportunity" to negotiate the technical details of the deal.

"I'm sure if they will take the right course of action and change gear from confrontations, resolutions and sanctions…then I think we will open a new chapter of cooperation," he said.

Western suspicions

But Western states say the exchange has lost its value as a confidence-building measure, because Tehran's stockpile of fissile material has expanded since October, and because it decided in February to escalate uranium enrichment to 20%.

They've tabled a draft sanctions resolution in the Security Council, and see the fuel deal as a manoeuvre by Iran to avoid the tougher measures.

The core issue, say Western diplomats, is that Iran continues to enrich uranium in defiance of United Nations resolutions.

They point to IAEA statements that Iran's lack of cooperation prevents the agency from confirming Tehran's intentions are entirely peaceful, as claimed. Mr Soltanieh made clear that suspending enrichment was a non-starter.

Such UN resolutions are "not possible, not implementable," he said, fiercely defending what he said was Iran's right as a member of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty to produce nuclear fuel, and suggesting that the Iranian government might reconsider the exchange deal if the Security Council eventually votes for sanctions.

He urged instead that both sides "open a new avenue for mutual confidence building," noting that "there's been a serious trust deficit for the last 30 years".

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/10151507.stm

Iran nuclear deadline looms

May 21, 2010
Al Jazeera

Iran has less than 24 hours to sign a nuclear swap deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil.
If Iran signs the deal , US plans for a new round of sanctions against Tehran at the UN Security Council will suffer a setback.

Iran must write and deliver a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to kick start the fuel swap agreement reached on Monday.
Under the proposed deal, Iran agreed to ship much of its stockpile of low enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for fuel for a research reactor for medical isotopes - something that the US had proposed in 2009.
But the deal notwithstanding, the US has been pushing for fresh sanctions.
"The US announced a deal with China and Russia for new sanctions right after Turkey and Brazil brokered a deal with Iran," Al Jazeera's Anita Mcnaught said, reporting from Ankara, Turkey's capital.

"Turkey saw that as a slap in the face.
"US officials never believed the Turkish-Brazilian brokered deal would succeed.
"No one [in the US administration] thought Iran was amenible to anything other than sanctions."  she said.

US displeasure
The US is unhappy with the deal because it does not include a commitment from Iran to suspend its nuclear enrichment activities.
"There are American officials who think Iran just used the Brazil-Turkey deal to slow down sanctions," our correspondent said. 
The controversy over Iran's nuclear programme has dragged on for years with the US and its allies accusing Tehran of seeking to covertly develop atomic weapons. Iran insists its nuclear programme is for generating electricity for civilian use.
Brazil and Turkey have growing ambitions in international affairs. Both countries are non-permanent members of the UN Security council who do not have veto power.

Turkish officials had been in touch with their US counterparts thoughout negotiations with Iran, a Turkish foreign ministry spokesman said. The US and Turkey are strategic allies. 
"Hillary Clinton [the US Secretary of State] did not want them [Brazil and Turkey] to fail but she never thought they would suceed. So the US went ahead with the sanctions draft," our correspondent said.   "If Iran signs the letter, then sanctions may not be an option. China might want to give the Brazil-Turkey deal a chance."

By Al Jazeera and Agencies
Source: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/05/201052183017311861.html

Iran to Scrap Nuclear Deal If UN Sanctions Approved

May 20, 2010

By Ali Sheikholeslami

May 20 (Bloomberg) - Iran said it will back out of an agreement to swap enriched uranium for reactor fuel if the United Nations Security Council approves a U.S.-sponsored proposal for a fourth round of sanctions aimed at curbing the country’s nuclear development.

“If the fourth round of sanctions gets approved, Iran’s commitments stipulated in the recent statement on the agreement and sending enriched uranium abroad will be annulled,” Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mohammadreza Bahonar was cited as saying today by the state-run Mehr news agency.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee May 18 that, with cooperation from Russia and China, the U.S. had created “a strong draft” of a sanctions resolution. The proposed measures are “as convincing an answer to the efforts undertaken in Iran in the past few days as any we could provide,” she told senators.

The U.S. move came a day after Iran said it agreed to hand over to Turkey about half of its enriched-uranium stockpile in exchange for fuel in a form that can be used only to run a Tehran reactor that produces medical isotopes. Iran said the swap would be supervised by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iran said the fuel-exchange deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey would make sanctions unnecessary. The U.S. and its allies said the agreement announced in Tehran sidestepped the dispute over Iran’s continued uranium enrichment.

Uranium can fuel a reactor or, enriched to higher degrees, form the core of a bomb. UN inspectors said in February that Iran was close to the 20 percent threshold that can open the way to the production of weapons-grade uranium. Iran would continue enrichment to 20 percent after any fuel exchange takes place, the government said after the deal was announced.

-Editors: Heather Langan, Philip Sanders

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-20/iran-to-scrap-nuclear-deal-if-un-sanctions-approved-update1-.html

‘Iran’s nuclear fuel swap deal does not address all concerns’

May 21, 2010

PTI- The White House has said Iran’s recent nuclear fuel swapping deal with Turkey and Brazil does not address all the concerns of the US and its international partners about Tehran’s nuclear weapon program.

“While we acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of the Turks and Brazilians, I think it is important to understand that that agreement alone does not address or that proposal alone in its limited form does not fully address all of the concerns that the P5-plus-1 and the larger international community have with Iran’s nuclear program,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at his daily press briefing.

“I think it’s important to understand that the proposal that Iran says they’ve entered into now is less than what they agreed to eight months ago. They did not agree to, as they had in October, sit down with the P5-plus-1 to have a broader, fuller discussion about Iran’s nuclear program,” he said in response to a question.

Iran did not agree to provide unfettered access to its nuclear facilities, Mr. Gibbs said, adding the proposal does not address in any form the increased enrichment that Tehran claimed it was undertaking to provide material for its research reactor.

Asserting that there are responsibilities that the Iranians have and that they must undertake, Mr. Gibbs said: “While the proposal that was outlined on Monday would be a step in the right direction because of the amount of low-enriched uranium that would be transferred -- again, assuming that the Iranians kept up their end of the deal, which has not -- has almost never been the case -- we have had eight months of progression.”

The progression has included increased enrichment, Mr. Gibbs said, adding the proposal, again, failed to live up to even what Tehran wanted to do eight months ago

The White House spokesman appreciated the role played by Brazil and Turkey in this regard.

“I would again acknowledge the role that they played in trying to get Iran to live up to its obligations. I think the international community, by releasing the consensus of the P5-plus-1 after that, understands that there is more that has to be done,” Mr. Gibbs said.

Source: http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article434875.ece

Spokesman: China welcomes deal on Iranian nuclear fuel

BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China welcomes and places importance on the agreement that Iran signed with Brazil and Turkey on fuel supply to its research reactor, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said here Tuesday.

Iran signed the deal in Tehran with Turkey and Brazil on Monday. Under the agreement, Iran will ship most of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for higher-grade uranium fuel needed for its research reactor in Tehran.

Ma said at a routine press conference that China hopes this move will help advance the peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue through dialogue and negotiation.

Ma said China has always adhered to the dual-track strategy on resolving the Iranian nuclear issue. China has always insisted that dialogue and negotiation are the best way to resolve the issue.

Ma expressed the hope that relevant actions by the UN Security Council would help safeguard the international non-proliferation system, maintain peace and stability in the Middle East region and advance proper resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue.

The United States and some other Western countries suspect Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear energy program. But Iran insists its program is peaceful.

Earlier on Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi also welcomed the nuclear fuel agreement between Iran and Brazil and Turkey. Yang told reporters during his visit to Tunisia that China was ready to work with other relevant parties to play a constructive role in pushing for diplomatic resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue.

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-05/18/c_13301628.htm

Half a loaf on Iran

May 18, 2010

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind when evaluating the deal negotiated by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for Iran to ship much of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey. On the one hand, the Obama administration is committed to multilateral diplomacy, and Brazil and Turkey are partners on the U.N. Security Council with, presumably, no more interest in a nuclear-armed Iran than the U.S. and Western Europe; they should be regarded as honest brokers. On the other hand, Iran is a master of the long game, repeatedly tendering offers in tactical moves to stave off economic sanctions while buying time to advance its nuclear technology. And this latest deal clearly throws a wrench into the sanctions efforts — at least for now.

The proposal includes concessions from Tehran, which had been reluctant to ship its uranium abroad. Now, Iran says it would ship 2,600 pounds of reactor-grade uranium to Turkey, a Muslim country, where it would be jointly monitored by Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency for up to a year. In return, Iran would receive higher-enriched nuclear fuel plates to be used in a reactor for medical research purposes. A previous proposal in October for Iran to send its low-enriched uranium to Russia for refinement and then onto France collapsed in part because Iran feared a double-cross and wanted the exchange to be simultaneous.

Serious problems remain, however. When originally proposed last year, the exchange was to have been a confidence-building measure to reduce Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium by about 70%, to below the level necessary to make a bomb, thereby giving Tehran and the West time to negotiate a broad deal for Iran to pursue nuclear energy while ensuring it could not develop a nuclear bomb. But Tehran has continued to enrich uranium in the last seven months, and the IAEA estimates that it may now be offering to give up only 50%, leaving it with enough to build a bomb anyway. Moreover, Iran has recently begun enriching uranium to a higher level and says it will continue to do so in what the White House called a direct violation of Security Council resolutions.

We don't want to dismiss the effort by Brazil and Turkey to mediate a solution, particularly if they can bring Iran and the U.S. to the negotiating table. But the Obama administration is right to remain skeptical, given what it called "Iran's repeated failure to live up to its own commitments." The goal is not a short-term swap of nuclear fuel but a long-term agreement on Iran's nuclear program. And there's nothing in the proposal crafted by Brazil and Turkey that commits Iran to resolving the bigger issues.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed0518-iran-20100518,0,3349162.story

Iran's nuclear move may derail U.S. efforts on sanctions

May 18, 2010

An agreement by Iran to send much of its nuclear fuel abroad clouded prospects for U.S.-led plans to impose further economic sanctions on Tehran over its controversial nuclear development program.

The proposal, brokered by leaders of Brazil and Turkey during an 18-hour session in Tehran and announced late Sunday, drew a reaction of cautious skepticism from the United States and its Western allies, who questioned whether it goes far enough to address longstanding concerns over the goal of the Iranian nuclear program. Iran says its effort is for civilian energy purposes only, but Western powers believe Tehran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

U.S., French, German and Russian officials all raised questions about the announcement, noting that Iran would still keep more than a ton of its nuclear stockpile and would continue enriching uranium in its centrifuges. But Western leaders also called for further study of the plan, saying it should not be dismissed out of hand.

The agreement appeared to sap some of the momentum for a new round of United Nations Security Council sanctions, which looked to include restrictions on Iranian government financial transactions. Officials from Turkey and Brazil said the deal removed any need for further U.N. sanctions. The two countries currently sit on the 15-member Security Council, though neither has the power to veto a sanctions resolution.

It remains to be seen whether Tehran was merely trying to avert imminent sanctions or whether the pact could form the basis of a wider accord. In making the uranium transfer abroad, Iran would drop its previous insistence that any swaps should take place on Iranian soil.

U.S. officials face a choice of rejecting the deal and appearing intransigent, or accepting it, potentially allowing Iran to defuse mounting international pressures through an indefinite delay.

The plan calls for Iran to ship 2,640 pounds of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey under the supervision of both Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, in Vienna. In return, Iran would receive 265 pounds of uranium from France and Russia within a year for use in a small nuclear reactor that produces medical isotopes to treat the ill.

The low-enriched uranium in Iran's stockpile is calculated at 3.5% pure, while the more highly enriched fuel plates are 20% pure. Experts have said uranium must be enriched to a far higher level to produce weapons.

The offer described Monday is a variation of one proposed in October by the United States and its allies as a means of slowing down Iran's nuclear enrichment operation.

But diplomats and nuclear experts on Monday quickly pointed to the unanswered questions and said the new plan falls far short, from the Western viewpoint, of the deal that was first proposed Oct. 1.

Under both deals, the same amount of low-enriched uranium would be transferred out of Iran. Last year, that quantity represented about 70% of Iran's stockpile. But since then, Iran has accumulated a substantial new quantity of uranium, so that removal of 2,640 pounds, or 1,200 kilograms, would account for only about half of the stockpile.

The deal last year failed to gain traction in part because many Iranian politicians said they suspected that the West was trying to hoodwink the Islamic Republic.

In addition, Iran embarked in February on a new program of enriching its uranium to higher levels, about 20%, making the proposal less important from the Western perspective.

The head of Iran's nuclear program, Ali Akbar Salehi, insisted in an interview with Reuters on Monday that the new proposal did not mean a halt to Iran's enrichment program.

"This agreement may not be as much of a priority for Barack Obama as it was some months ago," said Michel Makinsky, an Iran specialist at the Poitiers School of Business and Management in France. "What we have to see is whether there could be other topics related to this matter on the agenda that could give some ground for an agreement."

The White House said that the plan to ship the uranium was a "positive step," but that the continuation of the higher enrichment "is a direct violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the United States and other countries "continue to have serious concerns," and would work through the U.N. to show Iran that it must meet its international obligations "or face consequences, including sanctions."

U.S. Adm. James Stavridis, the top NATO commander, called the deal a "potentially good development" but also cautioned that there are a "million miles to go" in negotiations.

U.S. officials had been predicting that the Security Council could approve a new package of economic sanctions — its fourth set of strictures against Iran in recent years — next month. But on Monday, officials refrained from making any predictions.

"With this agreement reached, the issue of planned sanctions by the West no longer has any basis," said Celso Amorim, foreign minister of Brazil.

Deepti Choubey, a proliferation specialist at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said it was "troubling" that Brazil and Turkey could not persuade Iran to give up the 20% enrichment activities. The two countries, which have been seeking greater international influence, "have assisted, perhaps unwittingly, Iran's bid to derail the current sanctions effort," Choubey said.

Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, cited the concern that Iran would continue to enrich uranium to 20% levels, and called for an exploration of Iran's intentions. There should be "urgent consultations between all of the interested parties, including Iran," he said at a news conference in Moscow, according to the official Interfax news service.

Chinese officials had no immediate official comment. But in the past, the Chinese government, which has U.N. veto power, has strongly resisted efforts to sanction Iran, especially in ways that might affect the burgeoning economic ties between the two countries. Analysts speculated that China would urge a thorough study of the new opportunities for diplomacy.

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European officials reacted coolly to the deal. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said any pact must be approved by the IAEA, while European Union foreign affairs coordinator Catherine Ashton said the agreement did not address "all of the concerns" about Iran's nuclear program.

"The key thing is whether this is going to lead to negotiations on the future of Iran's nuclear enrichment program, whether the red lines of the U.S. can be rendered acceptable to the Iranians and vice versa," said Richard Dalton, Britain's former ambassador to Iran.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has been lobbying to delay the new round of U.N. sanctions, said Monday that nations which have been conducting negotiations with Iran — the U.S., France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany — should now come back to the negotiating table.

Still, analysts warned that this deal could still fall apart within Iran because of the same domestic political infighting that stalled previous proposals. In 2005, a Western effort spearheaded by Russia to have Iran send its nuclear material there for processing never took hold. And last year, Iranian opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi accused Ahmadinejad of moving to sell out his nation by giving up its hard-earned enriched uranium stockpile.

"There is a permanent inability of the Iranian side to take any decision whatsoever," said Makinsky. "The street paralyzes the top political management."

By Paul Richter, Christi Parsons and Borzou Daragahi

Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-nukes-20100518,0,5953517.story?page=1&utm_medium=feed&track=rss&utm_campaign=Feed:%20latimes/middleeast%20(L.A.%20Times%20-%20Middle%20East)&utm_source=feedburner

Serious concerns remain over Iran's nuclear commitment: US

May 17, 2010

WASHINGTON: Washington and its international partners remain seriously concerned about Tehran's nuclear program, but it would be a positive step for Iran to transfer low-enriched uranium off of its soil as it agreed to do in October, the White House said on Monday.

Iran agreed with mediators Brazil and Turkey that it would send some uranium abroad, reviving a UN-drafted fuel swap plan in an apparent concession over its nuclear program.

But Tehran made clear it had no intention of suspending uranium enrichment, the West suspects is aimed at making bombs, and Washington joined other big powers in expressing skepticism, as analysts said the move could help it split the international community and avert planned UN sanctions.

"Iran must take the steps necessary to assure the international community that its nuclear program is intended exclusively for peaceful purposes," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement, or face consequences including sanctions.

Gibbs acknowledged efforts made by Turkey and Brazil, and said the proposal must "be conveyed clearly and authoritatively" to the International Atomic Energy Agency before it can be considered by the international community.

"Given Iran's repeated failure to live up to its own commitments, and the need to address fundamental issues related to Iran's nuclear program, the United States and international community continue to have serious concerns," Gibbs said.

Tehran agreed at talks with major powers in Geneva in October to move most of its enriched uranium out of the country, but the deal fell apart under political pressure in Iran.

Gibbs said Iran's plan to continue its 20% enrichment violates UN Security Council resolutions, and said the declaration issued in Tehran is vague about whether Iran is willing to meet with major powers over its nuclear program, as it also agreed to do in October.

Washington remains committed to a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, he said.

REUTERS

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/US/Serious-concerns-remain-over-Irans-nuclear-commitment-US/articleshow/5942178.cms

Iran says nuclear swap to take place in Turkey

May 17, 2010

Iran said on Monday a nuclear fuel swap would take place in Turkey based on an agreement that the Iran discussed with Turkish and Brazilian leaders in Tehran.

Iran said on Monday a nuclear fuel swap would take place in Turkey based on an agreement that the Islamic Republic discussed with Turkish and Brazilian leaders in Tehran.

"The agreement will be signed immediately after the meeting and the swap will take place in Turkey," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters, according to Reuters news agency.

Turkey, Brazil and Iran have agreed on a joint formula about nuclear fuel swamp between Iran and the western countries.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Foreign Minister Celso Amorim of Brazil and Foreign Minister Manuchehr Motaki of Iran reached an agreement after almost 18 hours of negotiations.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad of Iran and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are expected to make a joint statement about the agreement on Monday.

Agencies

Source: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=58612

Brazil and Turkey Near Nuclear Deal With Iran

May 16, 2010

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Brazilian and Turkish government officials said Sunday that their leaders had brokered a tentative compromise with Iran in the international standoff over Iran’s nuclear program, a development that could undermine efforts in the United Nations to impose new sanctions on the Iranians.

A spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that after 17 hours of talks in Tehran, ministers from Brazil, Iran and Turkey had reached an agreement on the “principles” to revive a stalled nuclear fuel-swap deal backed by the United Nations.

The spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the deal would be presented to the leaders of the countries for “final touches,” with a statement on the agreement expected as early as Monday. The exact terms, notably the amount of nuclear fuel to be swapped, were not revealed.

The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, canceled an official visit to Azerbaijan late Sunday and instead joined officials in Tehran in what was seen as a sign of progress in the talks.

The Brazilian and Turkish leaders have been trying to revive a deal reached last October in which Iran would ship much of its stockpile of enriched uranium abroad for further processing; the uranium would then return as fuel rods for a medical research reactor. Mr. Erdogan suggested to reporters in Turkey before leaving for Iran that the uranium swap could take place in Turkey.

In the months since the deal was first reached, Iran rejected and then accepted it multiple times, with different conditions. Its unwillingness to give a straightforward answer was seen by critics as a delaying tactic.

It was unclear Sunday whether the Obama administration, which has insisted on the need for new sanctions, would take any new iteration of the deal.

The original terms were considered attractive to the United States and its allies because Iran would have temporarily relinquished most of its uranium. Because Iran has produced more uranium since then, the deal would very likely be less acceptable today.

But the blessing of Turkey and Brazil for such a swap agreement could put the Obama administration in the awkward position of appearing to take an unreasonably hard line.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president, met three times on Sunday with Iranian leaders, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A diplomat from the Brazilian delegation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he remained “optimistic” that the leaders would announce a deal Monday that would avoid new United Nations sanctions.

The Brazilian delegation was scheduled to depart Tehran just after midday on Monday for a European Union-Latin American summit meeting in Madrid.

Mr. da Silva is trying to leverage his friendly ties with Iran’s government to help broker a compromise. Like Brazil, Turkey also has been seeking to draw Iran back to negotiations as pressure mounts for passage of another sanctions resolution.

American diplomats and the Russian president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, said last week that Brazil’s efforts were the “last chance” to avoid sanctions.

Iran has insisted that its nuclear work is intended only for peaceful purposes like energy production. But the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency has said that Iran has not cooperated fully with its investigation into whether the country’s program is also intended to develop nuclear weapons.

On Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton predicted that Mr. da Silva’s mediation effort would fail. She said Iran could be forced to prove its nuclear program was peaceful only with a new round of United Nations sanctions.

“Every step of the way has demonstrated clearly to the world that Iran is not participating in the international arena in the way that we had asked them to do and that they continued to pursue their nuclear program,” Mrs. Clinton told reporters.

Alexei Barrionuevo reported from São Paulo, and Sebnem Arsu from Istanbul. David E. Sanger contributed reporting from Washington.

By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO and SEBNEM ARSU

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/world/middleeast/17iran.html?src=mv