Russia, Iran Deny Uranium Enrichment Deal

MosNews:

Iran said on Saturday it had not considered a proposal that Russia could enrich uranium for it — an idea floated as a way out of a deadlock in talks with the EU over Tehran’s nuclear program, Reuters reports. Moscow rejects claims that the proposal came from Russia. READ MORE

Britain, France and Germany were due to resume talks with Iran next week, aiming to persuade it to abandon uranium enrichment — a process needed to make nuclear bombs — in return for economic incentives.

Though Tehran has said repeatedly that it will not give up uranium enrichment, diplomats said one idea being floated was for Russia to temporarily enrich uranium for Iran. The diplomats, who declined to be named, said the proposal would buy time for the EU-Iran talks to continue.

“We have not discussed it yet,” Ali Aghamohammadi of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council told Reuters.

Aghamohammadi also contested comments by diplomats that Iran proposed the idea of having Russia enrich uranium.

“The idea was from Russia,” he said.

But Moscow denied the idea had been proposed by Russia.

“I do not have any information that we have suggested supplying Iran with fuel,” a spokesman for the Russian Atomic Energy Agency said.

Under the proposal, Tehran would process uranium ore mined in its central deserts into uranium hexafluoride gas. This would then be exported and pumped into Russian centrifuges to enrich it into atomic fuel for Iran.

Iran denies U.S. accusations it is seeking nuclear bombs, saying its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only.