UN uranium plan to be accepted, but with changes, reports state TV

Iran is to accept the broad framework of a UN-brokered uranium agreement but wants "very important changes" made to the plan, the state-owned al Alam TV channel reported on Tuesday.

AFP - Iran will accept the framework of a UN-drafted nuclear fuel deal, but will also demand changes to it, al Alam state television reported on Tuesday.

The Arabic-language satellite television station, citing an unnamed official, said Iran would present its response to the proposed agreement within 48 hours.

It did not give details on what kind of changes Tehran would seek to the draft agreement hammered out by UN nuclear agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei in consultations with Iran, Russia, France and the United States in Vienna last week.

The draft pact calls for Iran to transfer some 80 percent of its known 1.5 tonnes of low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Russia for further enrichment by the end of this year, then to France for conversion into fuel plates.

These would be returned to Tehran to fuel a research reactor that produces radio-isotopes for cancer treatment.

On Monday, a senior Iranian lawmaker said the Islamic state should send its LEU abroad in several phases for further processing.

Date created : 2009-10-27