October 21, 2009

VIENNA – The UN nuclear watchdog proposed on Wednesday, October 21, a deal under which Iran could enrich uranium in a third country, drawing immediate welcoming from Tehran and the West.

"I have circulated a draft agreement that in my judgment reflects a balanced approach to how to move forward," Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told a press conference in Vienna.

He said the draft has been sent to Iran, France, Russia and the US which were meeting in Vienna for days on a deal to offer Iran fuel for a civilian nuclear facility.

Under the deal, Iran's low-enriched uranium will be shipped out of the country to undergo a developed enrichment processes abroad.

Tehran would reportedly send 1.2 tons of its known 1.5-tonne reserve of low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Russia and France by the end of the year.

Russia would be responsible for enriching the uranium to the 20-percent levels required by Iran, but would sub-contract some processing to France.

El-Baradei said the parties have until Friday, October 23, to report back to the UN nuclear body whether they take the compromise.

"I would cross my fingers that by Friday we should have an OK and an approval by all the parties concerned.

"I very much hope that people see the big picture — that this agreement could pave the way for a complete normalization of relations between Iran and the international community."

Western countries accuse Tehran of developing a secret nuclear weapons program, an accusation vehemently denied by Tehran.

Iran insists that its nuclear program only aims at procuring power to feed an increasing local consumption.

Welcomed

Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, said the Vienna talks had been paying.

"We could produce the fuel for ourselves for this nuclear reactor," he asserted.

"But we have decided that we will receive the fuel from the potential suppliers willing to do so instead of that, under the auspices of the IAEA."

The underground nuclear fuel facility, kept secret until Iran disclosed its existence last month, aims at making medical isotopes such as cancer treatment.

Tehran says the facility, which has space for about 3,000 centrifuges, is about 18 months away from going on line.

The White House endorsed the IAEA draft agreement, expecting the document to be approved by the end of the week.

"We greatly appreciate IAEA Director General Baradei's skillful efforts and dedication to pursue this initiative of getting Iran to send out their low-enriched uranium to third countries," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.

"We think that the draft agreement presented by him today in Vienna was a very positive step," Kelly told reporters.

"And we expect by Friday to be able to say that we approve it."

France also said it backed the draft.

"It is a proposal that suits us," said Jacques Audibert, the political director at the French foreign ministry and the top nuclear negotiator.

He did not explicitly confirm that any fuel would be processed in France but he played down the tensions with Tehran.