Clever victory for Iran
Tehran aims to sacrifice large amount of low-grade uranium for greater gains
The draft agreement
between the great powers and Iran
celebrated by International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Mohamed ElBaradei is no more than confirmation of the proposal submitted by Iranian representative Saeed Jalili in the first round of talks with the Security Council’s five permanent members and Germany.
The proposal constitutes a clever Iranian move: According to the deal, Tehran will sacrifice roughly 1,400 kilograms (about 3,000 pounds) of the low-grade enriched uranium (that is, 3-5%) produced at its enrichment plant in Natanz in exchange for Western recognition in principle of Iran’s right to enrich uranium on its own soil.
We should also note that we are talking about Iran giving up only 75% of the uranium quantity it already enriched (at least as far as the IAEA knows.)
Justifying Nobel Prize
The draft agreement presented by ElBaradei does not deal with the core issues and the truly significant questions, which the dialogue focused on. The major question in this respect is the following: Is Iran willing to accept comprehensive UN monitoring nationwide, including unannounced inspections?
Another issue that remains shrouded in fog is whether Tehran will finally provide its response to evidence possessed by the IAEA that it is developing nuclear weapons?
Indeed, the IAEA chief is celebrating a draft agreement that is no more than the “first course” on the table before the great powers and Iran.
He is in fact lauding a document that grants Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s regime a significant diplomatic achievement, just in order to show that his reconciliatory approach towards Iran was justified, and that as he is about to complete his term in office, he can register a success story that justified the Nobel Peace Prize he was awarded in the past.
