Iran informs IAEA of nuclear fuel exchange deal
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Iran officially informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday that Iran has signed an agreement of enriching uranium abroad, with Turkey and Brazil on last Monday.
Thereafter, a short meeting was held between representatives of Iran, Turkey and Brazil, as well as the IAEA chief Yukiya Amano. A letter from the Iranian government has been delivered to the IAEA.
With the coordination of Brazil and Turkey, Iran agreed on last Monday to deposit 1,200 kg of its 3.5 percent (low-enriched) uranium (LEU) in Turkey. 120 kg of 20 percent uranium for the need of the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) will return to Iran within one year. However, Iran announced later that uranium enrichment will be continued within the country.
Experts pointed that some details of the agreement are deserving attention, such as the incapability of Turkey to convert low-enriched uranium to high-enriched uranium, and the risk of processing uranium somewhere, once the low-enriched uranium is transported to Turkey.
The intention of signing this agreement met with general discredits. Diplomatic sources said the uranium-exchange agreement was only a maneuver to buy time. Iran was intended to run away from the coming UN sanctions, by taking advantage of Turkey and Brazil being non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Diplomatic sources also believed that the U.S.-led western countries will not give up sanctions against Iran. As a matter of fact, the U.S. recently continues to urge the international community to execute sanctions against Iran.
Due to Iran's refusal of stopping uranium activities, the United Nations Security Council has made the resolution against Iran for three times. As reported, new resolution of sanctions against Iran will be made at the beginning of next month. The U.S. representative has made clear that the nuclear fuel exchange agreement was with the purpose of buying time.
The western countries all along believed that Iran planned to have its own nuclear weapons, therefore strongly urged stopping any uranium enrichment works.
Iran insists its rights of peaceful use of nuclear energy and control of nuclear technology, showing strong antagonist against the western countries. The mutually long-term hostility and suspicion is the major reason why the Iran issue hasn't been solved.
