Iran says it has not replied to uranium plan
State news agency says Islamic Republic has only expressed its 'positive attitude' and willingness to hold talks on UN-backed proposal
Iran has not yet given its answer to a United Nations-backed uranium plan and has only expressed its "positive attitude" and willingness to hold talks on the proposal, the state news agency IRNA reported on Friday.
Iran sent a message to the UN nuclear watchdog agency about the plan on Thursday, and while details have not been made public, European officials expressed frustration that Tehran was stalling over the proposal.
Under the plan, Iran would ship most of its low-enriched uranium abroad for further enrichment to produce fuel for a Tehran research reactor.
An unidentified Iranian official told IRNA that the message "did not contain a reply" to the plan. The official says Iran will give its "viewpoint" on the plan in further talks.
"Iran only showed its positive attitude toward negotiations and its readiness to continue talks on securing fuel for the Tehran reactor," the official said.
The official gave no further details. IRNA said in its report that Iran demands that there be a simultaneous exchange of uranium for the reactor fuel. "The simultaneous exchange ... is Iran's red line. Iran will in no way neglect this condition," IRNA said.
