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Iran leader's nuclear comments surprise West
AFP - Thursday, February 4
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BERLIN (AFP) - – Western nations who suspect Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb on Wednesday called on the Islamic state to make a firm commitment to the UN atomic watchdog to have its uranium fuel enriched abroad.
Iran appeared to carry out a policy U-turn when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tehran would have "no problem" sending stocks of low-enriched uranium to other countries to be refined into reactor fuel.
The president's comments took the United States and its European allies by surprise after it had earlier rejected a fuel deal drawn up by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a bid to ease the nuclear tensions.
The UN Security Council has passed three rounds of nuclear sanctions against Iran and the major powers are soon due to meet again to consider even more measures.
"There is really no problem. Some made a fuss for nothing," Ahmadinejad said on Iranian state television on Tuesday night.
"There is no problem. We sign a contract. We give them 3.5 percent (enriched uranium) and it will take four or five months for them to give us the 20 percent (uranium)," Ahmadinejad declared.
Chronology: The twists and turns of Iran nuclear fuel deal
Russia welcomed the Iranian leader's comments and China called for heightened talks on Ahmadinejad's offer. The Western powers said however that Iran must quickly follow through. France expressed new worries about an Iranian rocket launch.
"If Mr. Ahmadinejad's comments reflect an updated Iranian position, we look forward to Iran informing the IAEA," White House official Mike Hammer said.
The spokesman for the US National Security Council said the West had made a "good faith and balanced offer" that he added "makes sense for all parties".
The German government also called for follow-up action.
"Iran has to make concrete commitments to the IAEA and a concrete answer in Vienna (IAEA headquarters) is the only measure on which it can be assessed," German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said.
Wilhelm said Iran had to comply with other demands made in UN Security Council resolutions.
Britain's Foreign Office said: "If Iran is willing to take up the IAEA's proposed offer, it would be a positive sign of their willingness to engage with the international community on nuclear issues."
But the ministry said in a statement that Iran's desire must be made "clear" to the IAEA and Iran must hold talks with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.
"That remains the crucial issue in terms of addressing serious international concern about their nuclear programme," the statement said.
The IAEA has proposed that Tehran ship its low-enriched uranium (LEU) to France qnd Russia to be further purified into reactor fuel.
Iran agreed in principle to the offer during talks with world powers in October, but later appeared to reject the deal and said it preferred a gradual swap of uranium fuel -- preferably on Iranian soil.
But contacts have continued. IAEA chief Yukio Amano said at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland last week that "dialogue is continuing" on the offer. Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said "new ideas" on the nuclear fuel offer were made to Brazilian and French officials in Davos, Iranian media reported.
An IAEA spokesman said Wednesday: "We are aware of the media reports and we have nothing to add."
German foreign ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke told reporters he was not aware that Iran had made any firm proposal to the IAEA.
"And as long as it has not happened, we cannot remark on the substance of the comments" by the Iranian president, Peschke added.
Iran strongly denies that its atomic programme is intended to build a bomb. Ahmadinejad's comments came ahead of a meeting of the six powers on fresh sanctions against Tehran.
China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, on a trip to Paris, said it was "urgent" to keep talking to resolve the nuclear standoff. He added that talks were "underway" on Iran shipping some uranium abroad.
France meanwhile expressed concern at Iran's announcement that it had launched a home-built rocket because the technology could also be used to fire ballistic missiles.
"This announcement can only reinforce the concerns of the international community as Iran in parallel develops a nuclear programme that has no identifiable civil aims," a foreign ministry spokesman said.
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