Iran will Stop Enrichment Program in Exchange for Uranium Fuel Supply

In an attempt to show flexibility in the talks over its nuclear enrichment program, which have made little progress since April and have led to the West imposing harsher sanctions and Israel to increase its threats about air strikes, Iran has said that it would stop producing enriched uranium if it could be guaranteed a supply of fuel for its medical research reactor.

Ramin Mehmanparast, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said that “if a guarantee is provided to supply the 20 percent (enriched) fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor, our officials are ready to enter talks about 20 percent enrichment.”

Ali Akbar Salehi, the Foreign Minister, confirmed earlier in the week that “if our right to enrichment is recognised, we are prepared to offer an exchange. We would voluntarily limit the extent of our enrichment program, but in return we would need a guaranteed supply of the relevant fuels from abroad.”

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Iran is very adamant that its right to enrich uranium remain intact, even if it does not exercise that right. Al though the US and Europe say that Iran forfeited its right to enrich uranium when it decided to conceal sensitive nuclear work from UN inspectors.

The world in general wants Iran to stop production of 20 percent enriched uranium, shut down the Fordow underground centrifuge facility, and export its entire stockpile of radioactive materials.

By. James Burgess of Oilprice.com