Diplomats: Iran considers shipping, selling enriched uranium
Nuclear negotiators for Iran, obligated to dispose tons of enriched uranium under an approaching deal, are focusing on a US-backed plan to have Tehran export the material for sale by a second country as reactor fuel, diplomats told The Associated Press on Saturday.
While Iran says it does not want nuclear arms, it has more than 8 tons that could be turned into the fissile core of a dozen or more atomic bombs if the material was further enriched to weapons-grade levels. The export-and-sell option has been floated before, and the diplomats emphasized that the sides have not agreed on that solution in the search for what to do with the low-enriched uranium stockpile. But negotiators have little time left to make a decision on the issue with a Tuesday target date looming for a deal. Senior Iranian officials publicly rejected shipping out the material in preliminary negotiations, so Tehran's renewed interest is significant.
