Iran fuel swap requires West goodwill

Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency says the Vienna Group must show goodwill by finding a solution to provide Tehran with nuclear fuel.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh said IAEA Director-General of Yukiya Amano promised to pass on Iran’s letter to the representatives of the US, Russia and France, and inform the Iranian envoy of the due response, Fars News Agency reported.

“Now it is time for the US, France, Russia and the IAEA to fulfill their obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Agency’s statute … and help this project materialize,” Soltanieh said.

He urged the Vienna Group to “show its goodwill and political resolve in finding a solution based on mutual trust and cooperation” to supply the Tehran research reactor with nuclear fuel.

Now that the ground for diplomacy had been laid by the Islamic Republic it was expected of Western countries to make use of the historic opportunity provided by Tehran, Soltanieh added.

Tehran issued a nuclear fuel swap declaration with Ankara and Brasilia last Monday. Based on the declaration Iran agreed to ship out most of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for 20 percent enriched uranium for the Tehran research reactor.