Pressure builds on Iran to accept nuclear deal
Posted: 03 November 2009 0956 hrs

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TEHRAN: Iran said on Monday it wants a review of a UN-brokered nuclear fuel deal, as Britain and Russia urged it to accept the offer and France warned "delaying tactics" will not be tolerated.

Pressure on the Islamic republic to accept the deal mounted as Iran also indicated it prefers to buy nuclear fuel supplies directly rather than send its own uranium abroad for further enrichment.

Tehran's latest stance came as its close ally Moscow, along with London, urged acceptance of the high-profile proposal which aims to apply the brakes to Iran's galloping nuclear programme.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei called on Iran to deliver its response.

"I urge Iran to be as forthcoming as possible in responding soon to my recent proposal," he said at the United Nations, and also appealed for all sides to make compromises.

"The issue at stake remains that of mutual guarantees among the parties," he said.

"I should add however that trust and confidence-building are an incremental process that requires focusing on the big picture and a willingness to take risks for peace."

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, visiting Malaysia, called for a review of the proposed deal.

"We have considered this proposal, we have some technical and economic considerations on that," he told reporters.

"Two days ago we passed our views and observations to the IAEA, so it is very much possible to establish a technical commission to review and reconsider all these issues."

Mottaki added that Iran will "continue enrichment" of uranium for nuclear power stations requiring fuel.

Earlier Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, told AFP in Vienna: "We are ready to buy the fuel from any supplier under the full surveillance of the IAEA, as we bought from Argentina about 20 years ago with the cooperation of the IAEA."

He did not clarify whether Iran was rejecting the UN draft plan, which proposes shipping Tehran's low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad for further processing and conversion into fuel.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the six world powers negotiating with Iran over its nuclear fuel programme will not tolerate delaying tactics.

"We are waiting for Iran to formally accept the proposition made by the IAEA. If the Iranian response is to stall, as it seems to be, we will not accept this," he told journalists in Paris.

World powers back the draft as they fear Tehran could enrich its existing LEU to very high levels under the pretext of making fuel for a Tehran reactor, and use it to produce atomic weapons.

Tehran denies it wants a nuclear bomb.

Soltanieh said Iran is ready for another meeting in Vienna to discuss the technical details of acquiring nuclear fuel.

"We expect that like any other country, we will be able to buy and pay for it without any other condition, under the IAEA full scope safeguards of course," he said.

Iran has delayed signing the UN-drafted deal amid opposition from some leaders who suspect the US-backed proposal will ultimately lead to the suspension of Tehran's uranium enrichment work.

Enrichment is the most controversial aspect of its nuclear project as the enriched material can be used both to fuel civilian reactors and also to make the core of an atomic bomb.

Mottaki said Iran still has three options for obtaining the fuel it needs -- buying directly from other nations, further enriching LEU on its own, or having the fuel processed by another country.

Britain and Russia demanded that Iran give a prompt response to the UN-drafted deal, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in Moscow.

"We both want to see a prompt response from the Iranian regime in respect to the Tehran research reactor proposal," he told a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Lavrov said Russia, which is closer to Iran than any other world power, is counting on Tehran to approve the deal thrashed out in Vienna with representatives of Iran, Russia, France and the United States.

"This meeting ended with an agreement... which we are counting on all the participants, without exceptions, to approve, including Iran," he said.

On Saturday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Tehran to accept the offer, saying world powers' patience has limits.

- AFP/yb