IAEA chief presses Iran to accept nuclear fuel deal
Updated: Friday, November 20, 2009
Photographer: WashingtonTV
Mohamed ElBaradei
11:40GMT—6:40AM/EST
Washington, 20 November (WashingtonTV)—The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency urged Iran on Friday to accept a nuclear fuel deal with Western powers, warning that time was running out.
Mohamed ElBaradei, who brokered the deal one month ago, said that Iran has not yet provided a “final answer” on the proposal, under which it would ship most of its low-enriched uranium abroad to be further processed.
Speaking in Berlin, ElBaradei said the ball was “very much in the Iranian court,” reports the BBC.
He described the deal as a “unique opportunity” to move from sanctions and confrontation to building trust among Iran and world powers.
“I hope they will not miss this unique and fleeting opportunity,” he was quoted as saying by AFP.
Iran has come under mounting international pressure to accept the deal, which would provide Tehran with fuel for a research reactor while allaying Western fears that Iran is enriching uranium for a nuclear bomb.
On Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that Tehran would accept the deal only if the swap of low-enriched uranium for nuclear fuel was made simultaneously and within the country’s borders.
ElBaradei said that he has not received any “written response” from Iran. In their oral response, Iran told him that they want to keep all the material in the country until it gets the fuel.
“That to me is a case of extreme mistrust,” ElBaradei said, according to AFP.
On Thursday, US President Barack Obama said that Washington and its partners would discuss a package of steps they could take if Iran snubbed the deal.
Representatives from six major powers negotiating with Tehran over its nuclear program are holding talks in Brussels today to discuss the latest developments in the nuclear standoff.
Sources: BBC News, Agence France-Presse
© WashingtonTV 2009. All rights reserved.