The United States is ready to follow up with Iran on an abortive plan to provide fuel for a research reactor in Tehran in exchange for some of Iran's low-enriched uranium, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.
"We obviously are fully prepared to follow up with Iran on specifics regarding our initial proposal involving the Tehran research reactor ... as well as, you know, the broader issues of trying to fully understand the nature of Iran's nuclear program," state department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters.
"We hope to have the same kind of meeting in the coming weeks that we had last October," in which Iran was urged to accept a nuclear fuel swap as a confidence building measure, he added.
We obviously are fully prepared to follow up with Iran on specifics regarding our initial proposal involving the Tehran research reactor ... as well as, you know, the broader issues of trying to fully understand the nature of Iran's nuclear program
Crowley did not give any specific reason why he was optimistic about such a meeting that would bring together senior officials from Iran, the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany.
However, he said the United States had received a copy of a letter from Iran given in the last few days to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, and said US officials were reviewing it.
The watchdog said Monday that Iran has responded to queries raised by the Vienna group of diplomatic powers over a nuclear fuel swap deal proposed by Brazil, Turkey and Tehran.
The deal was purportedly based on the IAEA-backed deal offered last October in Geneva, but Washington rejected.
Under the proposed deal, which ultimately came to nothing, Iran would have sent some of its low-enriched uranium to Russia and France for further purification into fuel for a reactor in Tehran that makes medical isotopes.
The six major powers fear that Iran is using its uranium enrichment program as a cover to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran denies any such plans.
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