国际英语新闻：Iran may consider ending enrichment if given nuclear fuel: president

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here on Friday that Iran may consider ending uranium enrichment if Western countries provide it with nuclear fuel for a medical research reactor.

"To support our sick people, we had to produce 20-percent-grade fuel ourselves," Ahmadinejad told reporters at a press conference in New York.

"Whenever we are sure that 20-percent-grade fuel is given to us, we can examine whether to cease producing 20-percent-grade fuel," he added.

Ahmadinejad said Iran was not interested in starting a new plant to product the 20-percent-grade fuel. "According to international law and the rules of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), they should have provided that fuel to us. But then they decided to politicize the issue," he said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Turkey and Brazil reached a nuclear swap deal with Iran in May to deposit low-enriched uranium in return for high-enriched uranium -- 20-percent grade -- for a research reactor.

But Western powers regarded the deal as too little and too late mainly because they believe it failed to resolve the fundamental issue relating to Iran's capability to build a nuclear bomb, if it intends to do so. Tehran has insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.