'No reason' to cede on 20% enriched uranium: Iran
"We have no reason to cede on 20 percent, because we produce only as much of the 20 percent fuel as we need. No more, no less," Fereydoon Abbasi Davani was quoted as saying late Saturday by the ISNA and Mehr news agencies.
The issue of Iran’s enrichment of uranium to 20 percent, and its stockpile of that uranium, were at the centre of talks on Wednesday and Thursday in Baghdad between Iran and six world powers (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany).
Those talks neared collapse when the powers, known as the P5+1, demanded Iran give up that activity and its stockpile in exchange for some inducements such as aircraft parts for its dilapidated commercial fleet and technical assistance in nuclear energy.
Iran, which is suffering under Western sanctions, said the inducements were far too little and countered with a demand that the P5+1 declare that it has a right to enrich uranium.
With
that
impasse,
which
Abbasi
Davani
termed
"predictable,"
the
talks
teetered
on
failure
and
were
saved
only
by
last-minute
wrangling
that
agreed
to
give
negotiations
another
shot
in
Moscow
on
June
18-19.
Abbasi
Davani
was
quoted
as
saying
that
Iran
had
now
joined
the
small
group
of
countries
"that
can
produce
fuel
for
others."
He added: "It is better that others engage us about providing (them) with fuel, not that they (the West) demand we shut down our fuel production."
According to the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tehran has produced 145.6 kilogrammes of 20-percent enriched uranium, of which nearly a third has been converted into fuel for its research reactor.
PTI