In Brussels, P5+1 discusses Iran nuclear program

Western powers leading nuclear negotiations with Iran have met in Brussels to discuss Tehran’s latest reaction to a proposal for enriched uranium exchange.

Representatives of the five permanent member of the UN Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — plus Germany held a closed-door meeting early on Friday.

There has been no official word about the content of the sit-down, but a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said, “The meeting is to review the latest developments on the Iranian nuclear issue.”

The meeting came after Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the country has sought to modify a Western-backed proposal put forth by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The proposal, in its current state, asks Iran to send most of its domestically produced low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad for further refinement.

Iran needs 20 percent-enriched uranium to power the Tehran nuclear reactor, which produces medicine for cancer treatment and other scientific necessities.

Mottaki, however, said on Wednesday that “Iran will not send its 3.5-percent-enriched uranium out of the country.”

Tehran has proposed to keep the LEU in a room sealed by the IAEA inside the country until the higher-enrich uranium arrives. Under this proposal, the exchange would be completed in two stages — 400 kg of Iran’s LEU would be exchanged with 58 kg of 20 percent-enriched uranium in each stage.