Report: Iran buying uranium from Zimbabwe

Far from West's eyes: Iran and Zimbabwe signed a secret deal last month which may help the Islamic Republic take one significant step forward towards nuclear independence. The Sunday Telegraph reports that the agreement was sealed during a visit to Tehran by a close aide to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

According to the report, in return for supplying oil to Zimbabwe, Iran has been promised access to potentially huge deposits of uranium ore – which can be converted into the basic fuel for nuclear power or enriched to make a nuclear bomb.

"Iran secured the exclusive uranium rights last month when minister of state for Presidential affairs, Didymus Mutasa visited Tehran," a Zimbabwean government source told the British newspaper. "That is when the formal signing of the deal was made, away from the glare of the media."

Zimbabwe desperately needs Iran's oil to keep its faltering economy moving, the Telegraph said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Zimbabwe last week to show his support for Mugabe, who is celebrating 30 years in power, despite the harsh criticism directed at him by the West over human rights violations.

Mugabe and Ahmadinejad. Anti-West alliance (Photo: AFP)

The government source added, "The uranium deal is the culmination of a lot of work dating back to 2007, when Mr. Mugabe visited Tehran in search of fuel. Now Iran is beginning to reap the benefits.

"Iranian geologists have being conducting feasibility studies of the mineral for over a year now and we expect them to go ahead with mining once they are ready."

Iranian embassy: Not only uranium

According to the Telegraph, most of Iran's uranium came from South Africa during the 1970s, but its stockpiles are running low, so its access to Zimbabwe's reserves has been granted at a crucial moment.

Any deal to supply Iran is likely to put Zimbabwe in breach of UN sanctions imposed on Iran in 2006, the report said. Moreover, the pact seems certain to place Iran under even greater scrutiny by the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

A senior official at the Iranian embassy in Harare confirmed Tehran had been offered the uranium rights. "After a lot of diplomatic work and understanding, we have received reports of a deal having been made for Iran to mine not only uranium but also other metals," he said.

Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, insisted that mining rights had not yet been finalized, but defended Iran's right to apply for them.

"The Iranians have a peaceful nuclear program. This cannot be said about the Americans who mined uranium in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and went on to produce a nuclear bomb used to attack Japan," he said. "We have our uranium and no one is mining it, until we decide otherwise," he said.

"We remain resolute in defending Zimbabwe's right to exercise it sovereignty over its natural resources. We have equally supported Iran's right to peaceful use of nuclear energy as enshrined in the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty," he said.

Zimbabwe and Iran's good relations are the result of Mugabe's "Look East" policy in response to Western isolation. The world's country began severing ties with Harare following its land reform and the controversial 2002 elections.

Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad's journey in Africa continues. On Saturday he visited Uganda and flouted any more UN sanctions on his nuclear program as illegal, insisting he will not submit to any such pressure based on the United States and Britain "lying" about the evidence.

Ahmadinejad let loose when asked by an Associated Press reporter to discuss his effort to evade more UN sanctions by meeting with Uganda, a non-permanent member of the 15-nation council.

"The nuclear issue of Iran has turned into a big test for the entire world," Ahmadinejad said, adding that the US and Britain "say they are concerned about the building of a nuclear bomb, but they are lying like the other previous lies."

The Associated Press contributed to this report