Given fuel for reactor Iran can halt enrichment

Alaeddin Boroujerdi

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Iranian MP said that Iran’s National Security Council has announced: “If fuel is provided for Iran’s research reactor, Iran does not insist on domestic production of the necessary fuel.”

Iran has repeatedly said that uranium enrichment is a “red line” in its nuclear programs.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of the parliament’s Foreign Policy and National Security Council told IRNA that the parliament has reviewed the “protection of nuclear achievement” plan. He maintained that the plan has been set up in order to protect the lives of 850 patients in the country and the lives of these people will be in jeopardy if the fuel for Tehran reactor is in any way compromised.

Tehran reactor was built in Iran by Americans in 1967 and the fuel for it was provided by the US until 1979 and after that by Argentina.

Iran maintains that the reactor is used for “peaceful and medical” purposes. The US and other Western powers are concerned that Iran will use it fot military purposes.

Sergei Lavrov, Russian foreign minister has called for a meeting between Iran, the US and the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to deliver the necessary fuel for Iran’s medical reactors.

Boroujerdi also said that the Tehran Agreement will be the basis of Iran’s future negotiations.

In a meeting with Brazil and Turkey in Tehran, Iran signed a deal in which it agreed to send its low-enriched uranium to Turkey and in return receive enriched uranium for its reactor.

On July 3, G5+1 leader and the EU urged Iran to return to the negotiation table.

Earlier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated that he will postpone talks for two months as a penalty to the West for its “lack of manners” and as a reaction to the newly approved sanctions against Iran.

Ban Ki-Moon also emphasized that the approved sanctions should not mean that the road to finding a diplomatic solution to the nuclear impasse with Iran is lost.

In the meantime, Leon Panetta, CIA official said last week that Iran has enough enriched uranium to produce two nuclear bombs.

Ramin Mehmanparast, spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry sharply criticized this statement describing it an attempt at “psychological warfare.”