Tehran Claims Nuclear Deal with Moscow

Daniel Dombey in Brussels, Negar Roshanzamir in Tehran and Arkady Ostrovsky in Moscow, The Financial Times:

Iran said on Sunday that it had struck an agreement with Russia on its nuclear programme but Moscow insisted the fundamental dispute over Tehran’s nuclear plans had yet to be resolved. Western diplomats also argued that any Russian-Iranian deal was probably a technical one and had still failed to resolve the issue of whether Iran would desist from all controversial nuclear activities, as international agencies have demanded. READ MORE

The Tehran announcement came just days before the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, is due to produce a comprehensive report on Iran’s nuclear activities – a document that will be forwarded to the UN Security Council.

Russia has been spearheading international attempts to strike a deal before the issue reaches the more confrontational atmosphere of the Security Council. But so far Moscow has failed to make a breakthrough while US and European diplomats have stepped up claims that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapon capabilities. Tehran insists its purposes are purely peaceful.

Speaking on Sunday after negotiations with a visiting Russian team, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, said the two sides had reached a “basic agreement” on a joint venture to enrich uranium – the process that can create weapons-grade material. He added: “In order for this package to be completed, negotiations will be continued in Russia in the coming days.”

Sergei Kiriyenko, Mr Aghazadeh’s counterpart and head of the Russian delegation, said “mutual trust will increase” if Moscow’s proposal to carry out enrichment on Russian soil were implemented.

“I think today we have almost no problem with building this [enrichment] company, whether it be an organisational problem or a financial one,” he added. “But Russia’s proposal for creating such a joint venture is only one element of a complex approach. Work needs to be done on this.”

European diplomats suggested that any agreement between Russia and Iran had been relatively minor and technical since Iran had not yet agreed to the IAEA’s call for a moratorium on uranium enrichment on its own soil. “The key point for the international community is whether Iran is prepared to address the IAEA’s board requests,” said a UK Foreign Office spokeswoman. “We’ve seen nothing to indicate that at the moment.”

The 35-nation IAEA board is set to debate Tehran’s nuclear programme at a meeting beginning on March 6, after which the IAEA report, drawn up by Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general, will be forwarded to the Security Council.

“There are ways to solve Iran’s nuclear issue within the agency,” said Mr Kiri-yenko, who underlined the two sides’ co-operation over Bushehr, a nuclear plant Russia is building for Iran.