Obama: political situation in Iran delaying nuclear deal
Updated: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Photographer: White House Photo
Barack Obama
11:00GMT—6:00AM/EST
Washington, 10 November (WashingtonTV)—US President Barack Obama said on Monday that the unsettled political situation in Iran may be delaying Tehran’s decision on a United Nations-brokered nuclear fuel deal.
In an interview with Reuters, Obama said that the U.S. had made good progress toward global nuclear non-proliferation.
“But it is going to take time, and part of the challenge that we face is that neither North Korea nor Iran seems to be settled enough politically to make quick decisions on these issues,” he said.
Obama described the nuclear fuel deal, drawn up at talks between Iran, Russia, France and the U.S. in Vienna last month, as a “fair” offer.
He said it would allow Iran to have a legitimate civilian nuclear program while easing Western suspicions that Tehran was seeking nuclear arms.
Under the draft deal, Iran would ship most of its low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing, to be used in a research reactor in Tehran.
“Although so far we have not seen the kind of positive response we want from Iran, we are as well positioned as we’ve ever been to align the international community behind that agenda,” Obama told Reuters.
Iran has not yet formally responded to the deal, which it had agreed to in principle following talks with six world powers in Geneva on 1 October.
Source: Reuters
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