Russia Awaits Reply From Iran to Nuclear Proposal

Dow Jones Newswires:

Russia is waiting for Tehran's reply to a proposal to move Iranian uranium enrichment facilities to Russian soil, a compromise Europe is seeking to resolve a standoff over Iran's nuclear program, a Russian diplomat in the Iranian capital was quoted as saying Monday by Interfax.

Iran denied Sunday that it had received a proposal from Russia, which announced Saturday that it had sent the formal plan to Tehran.

"We presented an official memo to Iran on Saturday. We are waiting for a reply," Vyacheslav Moshkalo, a diplomat at the Russian Embassy in Tehran, was quoted as saying.

The two nations' contradictory statements may be the result of an Iranian attempt to gain time without directly rejecting a proposal from Moscow, a longtime ally. READ MORE

Uranium enrichment is a key step in the nuclear process that produces either fuel for a reactor or the material needed for a warhead.

The United States has accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists its program is aimed only at generating electricity.

Negotiators from Germany, France and Britain want to solve the dispute by having enrichment moved to Russia to ensure that Iran can't divert uranium to a weapons program. But Tehran has insisted it wouldn't agree to moving enrichment abroad.