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Clinton Nuclear Offer to Iran Will Not Change
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says there will be no change to the international offer to Iran to have its low-grade uranium processed and enriched abroad.
Clinton told reporters Monday in Marrakech, Morocco, that Iran has a pivotal choice to make if it does not want to face worldwide isolation, which would follow refusal of the U.N.-backed nuclear fuel deal.Hours earlier, Iran said it wants to hold more talks on the plan, even though world powers are demanding a quick response from Tehran to the proposal.
Iran's representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said his country wants another round of discussions in Vienna, where the proposal was drafted two weeks ago. At that time, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei gave the involved parties - Iran, the United States, Russia and France - until October 23 to approve the deal. Only Iran has not yet responded.
If Iran exports most of its enriched uranium, its ability to make the core of a nuclear warhead would be hindered.
ElBaradei told the U.N. General Assembly Monday that he is urging Iran to give its answer soon.
Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Monday his country has asked the IAEA to establish a technical commission to evaluate the proposal to send most of Iran's low-enriched uranium to Russia. After processing, it would be returned to Iran for use as fuel in a Tehran research reactor.
Mottaki's counterparts from Britain, France and Russia - David Miliband, Bernard Kouchner and Sergei Lavrov - also said on Monday they want Iran to give a prompt response to the enrichment plan.
Mottaki, who is in Malaysia, made his statement to reporters following comments Saturday by senior Iranian lawmakers who oppose sending their country's uranium abroad.
The head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, told state media his committee feels that Iran has "no guarantee" it will get its uranium back.
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