Iran awaits West response on fuel swap

Iran’s Foreign Ministry says Tehran has not made any new proposal regarding a proposed fuel swap deal, describing reports to the contrary as “Western media hype.”

“Iran has offered no new proposal concerning the supply of fuel to the Tehran research reactor,” Mehr News Agency quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast as saying on Wednesday.

“Our views are the same as what was previously announced and basically there has been no new development regarding the issue” he said.

“Iran is ready to exchange fuel in stages. Should both sides accept the basis of the proposal, discussions may be held over the approach,” he added.

“We are still waiting for the response of the other party,” the spokesman underlined.

This is while, diplomats say Iran has formally rejected a proposed deal to ship most of its low-enriched uranium abroad, and receive the 20 percent-enriched uranium at a later date.

Iranian officials earlier said that Tehran has always insisted on a simultaneous exchange of enriched uranium.

Iran had earlier announced that it would enrich uranium up to 20 percent purity, should Western countries refused to supply the country with the required nuclear fuel.

The enriched uranium will be used to power the Tehran Research Reactor, which provides radiomedicine for some 800,000 cancer patients.

While the West accuses the Islamic Republic of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear pursuit, Iran says it is entitled to pursue the technology for civilian purposes, urging nuclear powers to abandon their atomic arsenals.