Iran says Russian enrichment plan is insufficient

Iran reiterated today that a plan to allow it to enrich uranium in Russia was not acceptable in its present form, but was worth taking further in negotiations.

However, a Russian analyst cautioned his government, saying Iran might be using the plan only to buy time as it fights to avoid potential UN sanctions.

Iranian state television quoted Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani as saying: “The capacity of Russia’s proposal does not meet all the nuclear energy needs of Iran.”

Larijani was speaking on his return to Tehran from a trip to China where he tried to mobilise support against Western moves to refer Iran’s nuclear file to the UN Security Council, which could impose sanctions.

“It is not possible to say the Russian proposal is negative, and that is why we consider it as a basis for negotiations,” the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Larijani as saying.

In Moscow, Ivan Safranchuk, an executive of the Centre for Defence Information, a private think-tank, said Iran was not really interested in the proposal and “does not need it”.

“Iran will not immediately accept any proposal. It is in Iran’s interest to buy time,” Safranchuk told the Interfax news agency.

“Even if Teheran accepts Russia’s proposal after lengthy negotiations, one should be prepared for Iran to abandon the agreement at the first opportunity. Under the circumstances, Russia should be very careful,” Safranchuk said.

Iran provoked an international outcry on January 10 when it cut seals of the International Atomic Energy Agency at its main enrichment plant and resumed small-scale enrichment of uranium – a process that can be used to produce fuel for generating electricity or material for atomic bombs.

The three major European powers, with US support, succeeded in getting the IAEA to meet on February 2 to discuss taking action against Iran, which is expected to result in referral to the Security Council.

In the meantime Russia has revived a proposal under which Iran would ship its uranium to Russia, where it would be enriched and then returned to Iran for use in its nuclear reactor.

Iran’s first reactor, built by Russia, is due to come on stream later this year.

After a visit to Russia earlier this week, Larijani said the Russian plan “has some ambiguities that should be removed,” and that it would be discussed in talks in Moscow in February.

“The Russian offer is alive and will have long life,” Larijani said on Wednesday, according to IRNA.

The United States accuses Iran of trying to develop atomic bombs under cover of peaceful nuclear program. Iran denies this, saying its programme is entirely devoted to electricity generation.