IAEA suggests Turkey as 3rd side in Iran draft deal

The UN nuclear watchdog has suggested Turkey as the third country in a draft deal that would provide Iran with fuel for its Tehran research reactor.

The outgoing head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, said on Friday that Turkey could enter the IAEA-backed proposal as the third-country destination, Bloomberg website reported.

Hence, Iran's enriched uranium could be shipped to its neighbor Turkey.
“It should work.” ElBaradei said on Public Broadcasting's Charlie Rose television show. “Iran has a lot of trust in Turkey.”

ElBaradei said that the US government would also agree to the suggestion since the Obama administration is “very comfortable with Turkey.”

ElBaradei added that though he has not yet presented the idea to Turkey, he was confident that Ankara would accept the idea to hold the material in IAEA custody.

Iran would then get fuel for its research reactor in Tehran from Russia, he added.

The mid-October nuclear draft discussed in Vienna envisages Iran shipping out some portions of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) to be converted into metal fuel rods and returned to the country for the Tehran medical research reactor.

Tehran says that modifications must be made to the draft deal to safeguard the country's interests.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki reiterated in a televised program late Thursday that Iran's 'economic and technical' concerns should be taken into consideration.

"The Islamic Republic examines all the proposals. We have examined this proposal; we have some technical and economic considerations (which need to be addressed)," he said.

Mottaki's remarks came after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday repeated her earlier remarks that the proposal would see no change as demanded by Iran.

"As I have said, this is a pivotal moment for Iran, and we urge Iran to accept the agreement as proposed," Clinton told reporters. "We will not alter it, and we will not wait forever," she added.