Iran ready to refuse uranium exchange if country hit by new sanctions

Iran's proposal on synchronous exchange of low-enrichment uranium remains in force only as long as new UN Security Council sanctions are not brought against Teheran, the permanent representative of Iran at International Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said in an interview with Iranian news agency Mehr, RIA Novosti reported.

In 2009, the IAEA proposed that Iran pass 70% of its reduced-enrichment uranium to Russia for additional enrichment, but Tehran fears it will not get nuclear fuel back and made an offer for a simultaneous exchange. Having received no response to his initiative, Iran in February 2010 started independent enrichment, in response to Western threats of new sanctions. On Wednesday night, Western diplomats at the UN headquarters who wished to remain anonymous said the United States and its Western allies - France and Britain - imparted to the other permanent members of UN Security Council, Russia and China, concrete proposals on the draft of Security Council resolution about sanctions against Iran.

"Iran's proposal to make a simultaneous exchange on the territory of the Islamic Republic of low-enriched uranium for fuel enriched up to 20% is still on the table, but it will not remain in power forever," Soltanieh said.

He said the toughening of sanctions against the Islamic Republic, would make Teheran "withdraw this proposal."

"Any change [in the situation] that destroys the atmosphere of collaboration, will lead to the withdrawal of the Iranian proposal from the negotiating table. The sides [in the negotiations] should use this opportunity," the Iranian diplomat warned.

In the course of a Geneva meeting on October 1, 2009, Iran and the six negotiators on the Iranian issue (Russia, France, the United States, China, Germany and Britain) came to an agreement about exchange of low-enrichment uranium possessed by Tehran (up to 3.5%) for uranium enriched to 20% to fuel the Tehran research reactor. Later the IAEA, with the participation of Russia, France and the United States, worked out and presented a concrete project for agreement on the exchange.

The agency proposal provides that Iran will transfer to Russia 1.2 tonnes (70% of its total amount) of low-enriched uranium stored at the plant in the Iranian city of Natanz (nearly 300 kilometers south of Tehran). Russia would, according to the plan, enrich the uranium to 20% and transfer it to France, where it would be made into fuel rods and returned to Iran.

However, Teheran fears that will not get back the uranium it gives for enrichment, and offers to make exchange simultaneously.

At the beginning of February, Iranian authorities announced that they had started to enrich uranium on their own territory, and after two days - on February 11 - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the factory at Natanz had obtained its first batch of highly enriched uranium.

The decision of the Iranian authorities to start independent uranium enrichment caused a backlash in the international community. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Iran's actions "aggravate doubts about the sincerity of Tehran's intention to achieve by joint efforts the removal of the existing concerns of the international community regarding Iran's nuclear program." France and the United States declared their intention to seek the imposition of new UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic.