Iran announces uranium deal with Russia

Iran sought to avert increased international pressure over its disputed nuclear programme yesterday by announcing an agreement in principle with Russia on jointly enriching uranium.

However, the reported deal, announced one week before the UN nuclear watchdog meets again in Vienna to decide whether to back UN Security Council action against Tehran, left many unanswered questions about Iran's intentions, and the chief Iranian negotiator said more talks were needed.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said there was "nothing to indicate" that Iran had addressed key demands of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and particularly its insistence that Iran returns to a freeze on all uranium-enrichment activities.

British and American diplomats have accused Iran of playing for time in the talks with Russia over a compromise deal under which uranium would be enriched outside Iran as part of a joint venture.

The Iranian government has also shown no sign that it intends to give up domestic enrichment of uranium, which can eventually lead to the production of fuel for a nuclear bomb.

In comments unlikely to ease Western concerns, the Iranian nuclear chief, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, told reporters in the southern Iranian port of Bushehr that Iran would be setting an unspecified "precondition" to the deal.

An EU diplomat told Reuters news agency that this precondition was almost certain to be Tehran insisting upon its right to enrich its own uranium, in addition to enrichment in Russia, which would be unacceptable to the Europeans and to the US.

Russia insists that its compromise offer of a joint venture is conditional on Iran agreeing to return to a moratorium of enrichment activities.

Iran's decision to end a two-year voluntary freeze following last year's election of the hardline President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, triggered an international crisis and has already led to Iran being reported to the UN Security Council by the IAEA governors' board.

The 35-nation board, which is due to meet again on March 6, will decide next week whether to ask the council to take concrete action in order to oblige Iran to comply with IAEA demands concerning the Iranian nuclear programme.

Konstantin Kosachev, head of the foreign relations committee in Russia's lower house of parliament, suggested yesterday that Tehran was deliberately dragging out the negotiations and was unlikely to have clarified its position before the March 6 meeting.

Russia is helping Iran build a "safe" light-water nuclear reactor at Bushehr.

Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia's atomic energy agency Rosatom, speaking at a joint news conference with Mr Aghazadeh, stressed that Iran still had to take "serious steps" before the deal could be completed, an apparent reference to a return to a uranium enrichment freeze.

Iran reopened its nuclear enrichment plant at Natanz at the beginning of the year.

The IAEA director-general, Mohamed ElBaradei, is to deliver a report on Iranian compliance to the next board meeting.

Until now, Russia had said that while it had supported Iran being reported to the council it opposed further council involvement.

However, British diplomats said last week that in the light of Iran's apparent stalling tactics, the Russians may be prepared to countenance some UN Security Council action next week.

Last week, the French Foreign Minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, accused Iran of having a military nuclear programme, and the British junior foreign minister, Kim Howells, has openly questioned the Iranian insistence that its nuclear programme is not aimed at building a weapon.

Although President Bush insists that all options remain on the table - including military - and unilateral action by Israel cannot be ruled out, European diplomats want to gradually ratchet up the pressure on Iran through the UN Security Council, which has the power to order sanctions, if Tehran fails to comply with the IAEA demands.

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