US to allow Iran to enrich uranium to 5%

Washington may consider allowing Iran to enrich uranium to 5% if Tehran allows international inspectors to visit all nuclear facilities and have constant control over their operation, RIA Novosti reports.

Enrichment to 5% is enough for peaceful use of uranium. Nuclear weapons need enrichment to 90%.

US republican candidate for president Mitt Romney spoke out against the initiative.

Iran will hold the first talks with the IAEA this year in Vienna on May 13-14, Iranian representative to the IAEA Ali Asgar Soltaniye said.

Iran started enriching uranium to 20% in February 2010. It announced the launch of an additional 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz in mid-February 2012, making a total of 9,000

The six mediators (Russia, China, US, France, UK and Germany) and the IAEA have been trying to persuade Iran to stop uranium enrichment since 2003, saying that the process threatens the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Negotiations were hindered in 2009 when the IAEA criticized Iran for building a second uranium-enrichment facility and urged Tehran to confirm that no other unannounced nuclear facilities had been under construction.