By Parisa Hafezi
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran Friday challenged a U.N.-drafted plan for it to cut a stockpile of nuclear fuel that the West fears could be used for weapons, saying it wanted to buy nuclear fuel from abroad.
The deal had already been approved by the other parties -- the United States, Russia and France -- ahead of the Friday deadline set by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
Instead of engaging with the IAEA's draft, Iran appeared to be following a well-tested strategy of buying time to blunt Western pressure for harsher international sanctions while it presses on with nuclear research.
Its response appeared at first glance to offer the major powers little.
It would not only fail to reduce the stockpile of enriched uranium that is worrying the international community, but also require sanctions imposed on Iran since 2006 to be waived to allow it to import such sensitive nuclear material.
"Iran is interested in buying fuel for the Tehran research reactor within the framework of a clear proposal," Iranian state television quoted a member of Iran's negotiating team, who attended nuclear talks in Vienna this week, as saying.
"We are waiting for the other party's constructive and trust-building response."
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner was quoted as saying during a visit to Lebanon that "via the indications we are receiving, matters are not very positive."
"BAD SIGN"
Precise details of Iran's response were not made public, and Washington said it was still awaiting a formal Iranian response. But it was unclear how allowing Iran to buy nuclear fuel would serve non-proliferation objectives.
"This is a bad sign. Buying nuclear fuel abroad is a complete non-starter under sanctions. They seem to be looking for modifications that would fundamentally (weaken) the deal," said David Albright, head of the Institute for Science and International Security, which tracks nuclear proliferation.
Western diplomats said the IAEA plan, which has also not been made public, would require Tehran to send 1.2 tons of its known 1.5-tonne stockpile of low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Russia and France by the end of the year.
There it would be further processed, in a way that would make it hard to use for warheads, and returned to Iran as fuel plates to power a Tehran reactor that makes radioactive medical isotopes but is due to run out of its imported fuel in a year.
The deal would test Iran's stated intention to use enriched uranium only for peaceful energy.
It would also gain time for broader talks on world powers' ultimate goal: that Iran allay fears that it has a secret nuclear weapons program by curbing enrichment, in return for trade and technology benefits.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran Friday challenged a U.N.-drafted plan for it to cut a stockpile of nuclear fuel that the West fears could be used for weapons, saying it wanted to buy nuclear fuel from abroad.
The deal had already been approved by the other parties -- the United States, Russia and France -- ahead of the Friday deadline set by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
Instead of engaging with the IAEA's draft, Iran appeared to be following a well-tested strategy of buying time to blunt Western pressure for harsher international sanctions while it presses on with nuclear research.
Its response appeared at first glance to offer the major powers little.
It would not only fail to reduce the stockpile of enriched uranium that is worrying the international community, but also require sanctions imposed on Iran since 2006 to be waived to allow it to import such sensitive nuclear material.
"Iran is interested in buying fuel for the Tehran research reactor within the framework of a clear proposal," Iranian state television quoted a member of Iran's negotiating team, who attended nuclear talks in Vienna this week, as saying.
"We are waiting for the other party's constructive and trust-building response."
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner was quoted as saying during a visit to Lebanon that "via the indications we are receiving, matters are not very positive."
"BAD SIGN"
Precise details of Iran's response were not made public, and Washington said it was still awaiting a formal Iranian response. But it was unclear how allowing Iran to buy nuclear fuel would serve non-proliferation objectives.
"This is a bad sign. Buying nuclear fuel abroad is a complete non-starter under sanctions. They seem to be looking for modifications that would fundamentally (weaken) the deal," said David Albright, head of the Institute for Science and International Security, which tracks nuclear proliferation.
Western diplomats said the IAEA plan, which has also not been made public, would require Tehran to send 1.2 tons of its known 1.5-tonne stockpile of low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Russia and France by the end of the year.
There it would be further processed, in a way that would make it hard to use for warheads, and returned to Iran as fuel plates to power a Tehran reactor that makes radioactive medical isotopes but is due to run out of its imported fuel in a year.
The deal would test Iran's stated intention to use enriched uranium only for peaceful energy.
It would also gain time for broader talks on world powers' ultimate goal: that Iran allay fears that it has a secret nuclear weapons program by curbing enrichment, in return for trade and technology benefits.
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