US, Russia and France stall talks on Iran swap proposal

THE US, Russia and France have replied to a proposal by Iran to swap some of its enriched uranium for reactor fuel, dismissing the idea hours before an expected UN Security Council vote yesterday on new sanctions against Iran, diplomats said.

Three diplomats familiar with the replies say they contain a series of questions that in effect stall any negotiations on the issue.

The US, Russia and France have said the swap proposal negotiated by Brazil and Turkey would leave Iran with enough material to make a nuclear weapon. And they note that Iran intends to continue a new programme of enriching uranium.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday called the proposed new UN sanctions against Iran’s suspect nuclear programme the toughest ever, telling reporters in Ecuador’s capital that there is strong support for a fourth resolution penalising Iran for its refusal to prove its nuclear programme is peaceful and defying international demands to halt uranium enrichment.

“I think it is fair (to say) that these are the most significant sanctions that Iran has ever faced,” Clinton said at a news conference with Ecuador’s president. “The amount of unity that has been engendered by the international community is very significant.”

She declined to predict the outcome of the vote in the 15-member Security Council, but US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in London said the measure would pass and would pave the way for tougher new measures by the US and its allies.

In the final version of the UN resolution, sanctions would be tougher than previous penalties but still short of crippling economic punishments or an oil embargo.