US rejects Iran’s ultimatum to West

As Tehran gives one-month time limit for its research reactor fuel supply, the US claims that the ultimatum runs counter to Iran’s interests.

The West is pressuring Tehran to accept a UN-backed draft deal, which would require Iran to send most of its domestically-produced low enriched uranium (LEU) abroad to be further refined for the Tehran reactor that produces medical isotopes.

The research reactor in the capital, which produces radio medicine for cancer patients, is soon expected to run out of fuel. Iran has demanded the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to arrange that fuel be provided to the country.

Iran, however, has not accepted the proposal which was first floated by the administration of the US President Barack Obama. The Islamic Republic calls for “concrete guarantees” for the return of its fuel, as some Western countries have previously failed to adhere to their nuclear commitments to Tehran.

US National Security Council Spokesman Mike Hammer brushed aside Iran’s demand and said that the IAEA proposal already offered to Tehran was sufficient.

“The IAEA has a balanced proposal on the table that would fulfill Iran’s own request for fuel, and has the backing of the international community,” Hammer said.

“If getting access to fuel is Iran’s objective, then there is absolutely no reason why the existing proposal, which Iran accepted in principle at Geneva, is insufficient,” he added.

“The Iranian government is standing in its own way,” the spokesman said.

Hammer’s comments came after Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said that parties involved in fuel supply talks for Tehran’s research reactor will have to act quickly, as half of the two-month deadline has gone by.

“During negotiations between Iran and concerned parties, it was agreed that Iran should receive nuclear fuel for its research reactor; should the parties fail to do so, Iran has the right to produce the required fuel on its own,” he said on Saturday.

His remarks echoed those of Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki that the country would produce fuel for the Tehran research reactor should Western countries refuse to supply the country with the required material.

“We set a time limit (for the West) to make a decision about supplying the fuel required by the Tehran research reactor,” Mottaki said.

“If a logical decision is not made in a timely manner about its purchase or exchange, Iran will produce the fuel,” he said. “We will not give more time.”