Talks between Iran and world powers on a uranium enrichment deal are making slower-than-expected progress, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog has said. Mohamed ElBaradei said "many technical issues" had to be analysed, but insisted they were "moving forward".| Technical should be: Where did you say your other enrichment plants are? We need to confirm our satellite photos. |
Iran is considering a proposal to send uranium abroad for further enrichment. This is seen as a way for Iran to get the fuel it needs, while giving guarantees to the West that it will not be used for nuclear weapons.
Tuesday's talks in Geneva - involving Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany - faltered after the Iranians said they would curb enrichment, something seen by the Western powers as essential, and objected to France's involvement. All sides eventually returned to the negotiating table for about an hour after the US and Iranian representatives met in Mr ElBaradei's office. Few details of the meetings were released.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the talks would resume at 1000 (0800 GMT) on Wednesday. "I believe we are making progress. It is maybe slower than I expected. But we are moving forward," Mr ElBaradei told reporters.
He said the process was complex, and involved "many technical issues" as well as "confidence-building guarantees".
The Iranian ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, meanwhile said the consultations had been "constructive".
| Pulled another over on El Baradei, did he ... |
"There is Russia, America... I believe these countries are enough," he said. "France, based on its shortcomings to fulfil its obligations in the past, is not a trustworthy party to provide fuel for Iran."
| Pot, kettle -- you know the drill. |
The proposed scheme hinges on an arrangement in principle that Western negotiators announced after talks in Geneva earlier this month. Under it, Russia and France would treat most of Iran's low-enriched uranium and turn it into fuel rods for a research reactor in Tehran.
Diplomats say a compromise is being considered under which Iran would sign a contract with Russia, which would then sub-contract work to France. Correspondents say the deal would see Iran get the fuel it needs, tacit acknowledgement of its right to enrich uranium, and no new sanctions. The West would meanwhile get a guarantee that Iran's existing stockpile will not be diverted to make nuclear bombs, they add.
| I read the other day that somehow Iran introduced a contaminant into the purification process that renders the product unusable for bombs... if I understood what I was reading correctly. Has anyone else seen anything like that? |