Ahmadinejad positive on Turkey as partner in Iran nuclear deal

Nov 16, 2009, 10:27 GMT

   Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was positive about Turkey being a possible partner for storing Iranian uranium as part of a deal to process nuclear fuel abroad, sources said Monday.

   The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, quoted Ahmadinejad as saying that Turkey as a friendly country could play a 'positive and constructive role' in this regard.

   At a meeting Sunday night with heads and reporters of Asian news agencies in Tehran the Iranian president added that 'Iran would shake healthy but reject unhealthy hands.'

   Ahmadinejad once again reiterated that Iran would not make any concessions over its nuclear programme and negotiate the issue only with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

   The remarks were the first Iranian reaction to a proposal drafted by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei, according to which Iran would ship its low enriched uranium to Turkey.

   Turkey would hold on to it while Russia enriches a separate batch of nuclear fuel. Russia would only receive the original Iranian uranium once it had delivered the enriched fuel to Iran.

   If Turkey participated, it would essentially work as a guarantor to allay Iranian fears that the uranium it exported would not be returned. The deal has been under negotiation between Iran and the five permanent United Nations Security Council members, plus Germany.

   The temporary storage option would be part of a larger plan to export low-grade enriched uranium to Russia and France where it could be enriched to be used as fuel in Iran's medical-purpose reactor.

   The deal is seen internationally as a confidence-building measure for Iran, which wants to prove to the world that its nuclear programme is not intended for making weapons. However, Iran has not ruled out purchasing its nuclear fuel from other countries.

   According to IAEA sources, Turkey is prepared to consider the storage option, but Iran still has questions.