A senior Iranian nuclear official has rejected reports that Tehran might halt uranium enrichment for guaranteed nuclear fuel import. Several Western media outlets reported on Thursday that Iran's ambassador to the UN nuclear watchdog agency, Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh, had suggested that Iran might reconsider its nuclear activities should it receive guarantees of foreign supplies of enriched uranium.
Soltaniyeh said on Saturday that he had been misunderstood on the subject.
He had told an IAEA meeting in Brussels that the outcome of failed negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany) had revealed that 'there was no guarantee for countries like Iran to be provided with foreign supplies'.
Western media reported, however, that his remarks suggested that Iran's nuclear program is conditional on foreign promises.
In an interview with Fars news agency on Friday, Soltaniyeh spoke out to set the record straight and clarified that Iran will not change its nuclear approach but is open to negotiations.