Iran to Offer Its Response to U.N. Nuclear Fuel Deal

Wednesday an Iranian lawmaker said, Iran will present its position on a U.N.-drafted nuclear fuel deal on Thursday.

Photo: Iran to Offer Its Response to U.N. Nuclear Fuel Deal

"Iran will present its response to the (U.N. nuclear) agency's proposal on Thursday," said Mohammad Karamirad, a member of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, ISNA news agency reported.

On Tuesday, Iranian state television said Iran would accept the framework of the agreement, but that it would also demand important amendments. Under the draft deal, Iran would send low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing, Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, another lawmaker, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, says Iran's top security body will make a final decision on the proposal later Wednesday.

Iran 's state media have said the country will agree to the plan's general framework but will demand important changes, The Associated Press reports.

Meanwhile, Iranian state media had said on Tuesday that Tehran wanted "very important changes" in the deal arranged by the IAEA.

France says the deal calls for Tehran to export to Russia more than 1,200 kilos (2,640 pounds) of its 3.5 percent LEU for refining up to 20 percent purity to fuel the Tehran reactor that makes medical isotopes.

World powers back this, as they fear Iran intends to enrich its LEU to even higher levels for use in atomic weapons. Another plus from their perspective is that the Tehran facility is closely monitored by the IAEA.

Iran was to offer its response to the deal by last Friday but delayed it amid conflicting views on it from its senior officials who are largely of the opinion that Tehran must transport its LEU in batches rather than all at once, AFP reports.