Senior Iranian lawmakers voiced firm opposition on Saturday to a UN-drafted nuclear fuel deal, casting further doubt on a proposal aimed at easing international tension over Tehran's atomic activities. Under the US-backed plan, Iran would send most of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad for further processing to turn it into more refined fuel for a Tehran research reactor.
The West's priority is to reduce Iran's LEU stockpile to prevent any danger that the Islamic Republic might turn it into the highly enriched uranium needed for a nuclear bomb. But politicians in Iran, which says its nuclear programme is a peaceful drive to produce electricity, have voiced deep misgivings about the idea of parting with the bulk of what is seen as a strategic asset and a strong bargaining chip.
Several MPs have said Iran should buy the reactor fuel it needs rather than send its own uranium out of the country. "The demand that we should deliver all enriched nuclear material to other countries so that they would supply Tehran's fuel needs is completely out of the question," ILNA news agency quoted MP Kazem Jalali as saying.
He is the spokesman of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee. The committee's head Alaeddin Boroujerdi echoed that view. "We are completely opposed to the proposal on delivering uranium with 3.5 percent enrichment in exchange for uranium with 20 percent enrichment," ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.
IRAN PROPOSING "DIFFERENT DEAL" President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was hopeful talks with the world powers would continue, even though he made clear Tehran's mistrust towards Western countries due to their "negative record", ISNA news agency reported. "The Westerners know that in the absence of interaction with Iran they would not be able to manage the world," he said.
The IAEA proposal calls for Iran to transfer about 75 percent of its known 1.5 metric tons of LEU to Russia for further enrichment by the end of this year. The material would then be shipped to France for conversion into fuel plates for the Tehran reactor that produces radio isotopes for cancer treatment. Diplomats said Iran has yet to give a formal response to the plan but has leaked demands for major changes that could unravel the tentative pact.
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