Iran, Turkey discuss Turkish role in nuclear fuel deal

Washington, 9 November (WashingtonTV)—Iranian and Turkish officials on Monday held talks on a proposal from the chief of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog for Iran’s uranium to be sent to Turkey for temporary safekeeping, the Bloomberg news agency reported on Monday.

The option, suggested by International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei, was discussed by officials from the two countries on the sidelines of an economic summit in Istanbul, said Turkish Foreign MinisterAhmet Davutoglu.

Iran has been reluctant to agree to an IAEA-brokered nuclear fuel deal, under which it would ship most of its low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing, to be used in a research reactor in Tehran.

In a bid to salvage the deal, ElBaradei has suggested that Iran’s low-enriched uranium be sent to a third country, such as Turkey, and held there until Iran gets the fuel for its reactor.

Asked how Turkey views the proposal, Davutoglu told Bloomberg news that Ankara “always wants to help” to resolve disputes.

On Sunday, Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency quoted an “informed source” as saying that ElBaradei had suggested the Turkish proposal before, and that Tehran had already turned it down.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki are in Istanbul attending an economic summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Sources: Bloomberg news agency, ISNA

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