China welcomes Iran nuclear fuel swap deal

China has welcomed a nuclear fuel swap plan that Iran announced after talks with Brazil and Turkey, urging negotiations over the deepening dispute with Tehran, as the United Nations atomic watchdog said that Tehran must agree in writing on the deal.

"China expresses its welcome (of the fuel swap plan)," Yang said late early Tuesday while visiting Tunisia, Xinhua news agency said.

"China has noted the relevant reports and expresses its welcome and appreciation for the diplomatic efforts made by the parties involved to seek an appropriate solution to the Iran nuclear issue."

China is among the world powers that have been discussing possible new U.N. sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear activities. It is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, giving it the power to veto resolutions.

Yang's published comments did not touch on whether China believes the nuclear fuel swap proposal means those sanctions discussions should be delayed. But he stressed that Beijing prefers a negotiated solution to the dispute.

China "believes that dialogue and negotiations should be the channels for resolving the Iran nuclear issue," he said.

The United Nations atomic watchdog said Monday it wants Iran to agree in writing to a deal to ship some of its low enriched uranium to Turkey.

"The International Atomic Energy Agency has received the text of the joint declaration by Iran, Turkey and Brazil, signed today in Tehran," said IAEA spokeswoman Gill Tudor.

"In line with what was stated there, we are now expecting written notification from Iran that it agrees with the relevant provisions included in the declaration."

Fuel swap deal

Earlier, Iran signed an agreement with non-permanent U.N. Security Council members Turkey and Brazil to ship 1,200 kilograms of its low enriched uranium to Turkey for a later swap for fuel for a research reactor.

The deal appeared to be a breakthrough in long-stalled discussions over the re-fuelling of the Tehran research reactor that makes radioisotopes for cancer treatment.

The IAEA has been trying to persuade Iran since October to sign a deal with the United States, France and Russia that would see its stockpile of low enriched uranium shipped out of the country and then turned into fuel for the research reactor.

But Iran has so far stalled on the deal, insisting it wants to keep the uranium on its own soil for a simultaneous swap with reactor fuel.

Enriched uranium is at the center of Western suspicions over Tehran's atomic program, because in a highly purified form it can be used to make the fissile material of a nuclear bomb.

Under the new agreement, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, Tehran is ready to deposit more than half of its LEU in Turkey "within one month."

In return, the United States, France and Russia would deliver 120 kilos of fuel needed for the reactor "in no later than one year."

So far, western nations have greeted the deal with skepticism, with the United States saying it will not halt its quest for tough new sanctions.