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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Iran 'reply' on nuclear fuel deal | Iran 'reply' on nuclear fuel deal |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Iran has delivered a response on a UN-backed proposal seen as crucial to easing diplomatic tensions over its nuclear programme, Iranian media say. | Iran has delivered a response on a UN-backed proposal seen as crucial to easing diplomatic tensions over its nuclear programme, Iranian media say. |
| Under the plan, most of Iran's enriched uranium would be sent abroad to be turned into fuel rods for research use. | Under the plan, most of Iran's enriched uranium would be sent abroad to be turned into fuel rods for research use. |
| Iran's president said earlier his country was ready to co-operate with the proposal. | Iran's president said earlier his country was ready to co-operate with the proposal. |
| Iran says it is enriching uranium for fuel, but the US and its allies have accused it of seeking nuclear weapons. | Iran says it is enriching uranium for fuel, but the US and its allies have accused it of seeking nuclear weapons. |
| A report on Al-Alam TV on Thursday said Iran had given its response on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plan, but gave no details. | A report on Al-Alam TV on Thursday said Iran had given its response on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plan, but gave no details. |
| Iran's Isna news agency quoted Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, as saying only that Iranian "economic and technical concerns regarding the supply of fuel for the research reactor [in Tehran] should be addressed." | Iran's Isna news agency quoted Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, as saying only that Iranian "economic and technical concerns regarding the supply of fuel for the research reactor [in Tehran] should be addressed." |
| NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE Mined uranium ore is purified and reconstituted into solid form known as yellowcakeYellowcake is converted into a gas by heating it to about 64C (147F) Gas is fed through centrifuges, where its isotopes separate and the process is repeated until uranium is enrichedLow-level enriched uranium is used for nuclear fuelHighly enriched uranium can be used in nuclear weapons | |
| Observers in Tehran say the government is expected to demand significant changes to the IAEA proposal while accepting the overall framework. | |
| According to a report by the pro-government newspaper Java, those changes could include shipping low-enriched uranium abroad in stages rather than all at once. | |
| Also on Thursday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described the IAEA proposal as a move from "confrontation to co-operation" by western powers. | |
| "We welcome fuel exchange, nuclear co-operation, building of power plants and reactors and we are ready to co-operate," Mr Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech in the city of Mashhad. | |
| However, he also said Iran would "not retreat even an iota" over its right to develop a nuclear programme. | |
| The IAEA has proposed exporting most of Iran's enriched uranium to Russia and France, where it would be converted into fuel before being returned to Iran. | The IAEA has proposed exporting most of Iran's enriched uranium to Russia and France, where it would be converted into fuel before being returned to Iran. |
| The plan was agreed by the US, Russia and France after talks in Vienna last week, but Iran missed a deadline to respond on Friday. | |
| For Western powers, the proposal would buy time while they press for a definitive solution to the stand-off over Iran's nuclear ambitions. | |
| Meanwhile, a delegation of IAEA inspectors returned after visiting Iran's recently-revealed second uranium enrichment plant at Fordo, near Qom. | |
| "We had a good trip," said delegation head Herman Nackaerts. | |
| He did not answer specific questions about any of the data that was gathered, saying it had yet to be analysed. |