国际英语新闻：Tehran signals willingness to swap low-grade uranium outside Iran

TEHRAN, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- In an interview with the state-run IRIB TV channel, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday signaled willingness for the swap of low-grade uranium for higher grade uranium needed for a research reactor in Tehran.

Ahmadinejad said that there is "no problem" if Iran ships abroad its low-grade enriched uranium and takes upgraded uranium several months later, the official IRNA news agency reported Wednesday.

Under a draft deal brokered by the international nuclear watchdog IAEA, most of Iran's existing low-grade enriched uranium will be shipped to Russia and France, where it will be processed into fuel rods with a purity of 20 percent.

The higher-level enriched uranium will then be transported back to Iran. Tehran had been standing against the deal till Tuesday.

Ahmadinejad's remarks signal a major change in Tehran's position, as the Iranian government rejected the Dec. 31, 2009 deadline set by the United States for Iran to accept a UN-drafted deal for swapping its low-enriched uranium for nuclear fuel outside Iran, and instead demanded a simultaneous exchange inside the country.

"Even if we (first) give them (Russia and France) 3.5 percent (uranium) fuel, there is no problem," Ahmadinejad said in the interview on Tuesday, adding Iran can take back the 20 percent enriched uranium four or five months later.

When at first the swap proposal was introduced, "some inside the country made a fuss over that and said they (powers) will take our fuel and won't give back (the high-grade uranium)," he said, adding that now that "they (powers) want to cooperate with us...we have no problem either," according to IRNA.

The president invited Russians, French and the Americans to build 20 nuclear power stations inside the country, saying that Iran needs 20,000 megawatt of nuclear electricity.

The same day as Ahmadinejad said the country is ready to ship its low-enriched uranium abroad for further enrichment as requested, the United States urged Iran to inform the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of its change of course on a UN-backed uranium swap deal.

"If Mr. Ahmadinejad's comments reflect an updated Iranian position, we look forward to Iran informing the IAEA," the U.S. National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said Wednesday that Russia would welcome Iran's acceptance of a draft uranium enrichment deal brokered by IAEA.

"If Iran is willing to revert to the plan agreed upon earlier, we will only welcome this," Lavrov said, adding that the information needed to be verified.

While the news concerning Iran's new position was circulating, Iran's Labor News Agency (ILNA) quoted the head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi as saying that Tehran is currently talking with some countries to swap its low-grade uranium for the higher-grade uranium.

Rejecting any final agreement on the uranium swap with some countries which are able to produce 20 percent enriched uranium, Salehi told ILNA that "the talks are currently underway and we will announce the final agreements."

Asked whether Iran has entered the negotiations with countries other than France and Brazil, Salehi, who is also Iran's vice president, said there are a number of countries involved in the swap and one of them is from Asia, but he refused to specify the Asian state as Japan.

Western countries have accused Iran of covertly building nuclear weapons, but Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful and aims to generate electricity for civilian use.