Diplomat: Iran needs uranium for hospitals
Senior official: Iran desperately needs uranium to produce isotopes for medical purposes
A top Iranian diplomat has said his nation needs enriched uranium to power some 200 hospitals and insisted "guarantees" were needed before they could consider a storage deal with Turkey.
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, chief Iranian delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in an interview with Der Spiegel released Saturday that Iran desperately needed more uranium to produce isotopes for medical purposes.
Soltanieh was also quoted as saying Tehran would not allow Turkey to temporarily store its enriched uranium unless there were guarantees it would receive fuel in exchange.
His comments come a day after representatives of six world powers urged Iran to accept a UN plan aimed at delaying its ability to build a nuclear weapon.
'Try Mousavi for big lie'
Meanwhile, the head of a hardline Iranian political party called on Saturday for opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi to face trial for spreading the "big lie" of fraud in June's disputed election.
Any legal action against Mousavi, who has vowed to press on with his drive for political reform in the Islamic Republic, may trigger new street protests by his backers.
"I believe both Mousavi and all those who propagated this big lie must face trial in a court of law," said Mohammad Nabi Habibi, secretary-general of the conservative Islamic Coalition Party, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Other hardliners have also called for legal action against Mousavi, a former prime minister who came second in the June 12 presidential vote, which sparked months of political turmoil.
