Iranian nuclear talks outline draft resolution

Al Shorfa and wire services
For Al-Shorfa.com
2009-10-22

Iran's International Atomic Energy Agency ambassador, Ali Asghar Soltaniyeh, and journalists in Vienna, Oct. 20. (Reuters/Herwig Prammer)

VIENNA — Participants in the nuclear talks between Iran, the U.S., Russia and France in Vienna on Oct. 21 accepted the draft of an agreement they had reached, and forwarded it to their capitals for approval, said International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei. He expected approvals from all four countries by Friday, Oct. 23.

The apparent breakthrough came on the third day of talks, following stalled negotiations on Oct. 20, after Iran said it did not want France to be part of any deal on uranium enrichment.

According to ElBaradei, the draft agreement “reflects a balanced approach on how to move forward...All participants at the meeting are looking to the future, not the past, trying to heal the wounds…I very much hope that people see the big picture; see that this agreement could open the way for a complete normalisation of relations between Iran and the international community,” he concluded.

Iran's chief delegate, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, praised the draft, saying it was "on the right track," while emphasising that senior Iranian officials in Tehran still had to agree to it.

Because of the extreme sensitivity of the topic, neither side revealed details of what was in the package. But diplomats told the

At the same time, the official Iranian news agency

Iran has 1,500kg of low-enriched uranium at its plant in Natanz, in defiance of three rounds of U.N. sanctions to enforce demands that it halt all enrichment activity.

Sending such a large amount of Iran's enriched uranium outside the country would temporarily get rid of most of the material it would need to make a bomb.

After the material is turned into metal fuel rods, it would then be shipped back to Iran to power its small research reactor in Tehran, according to the initial plan.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner appeared to outline the contours of the deal, insisting that his country would not compromise on demanding that Tehran ship out most of its enriched material.

If Iran accepts the deal, "it must be before the end of the year, there must be at least 1,200 kilograms. On that, we won't back down," Kouchner told reporters in Paris.

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