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Iran pledges to end uranium
conversion from Nov-22
Pakistan
Times Monitoring Report
TEHRAN (Iran): Iran will
stop converting uranium from Nov-22 to dispel fears Tehran is seeking atomic
arms, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator said on Monday.
But Hassan Rohani said Iran still wanted a full nuclear fuel cycle, which
would include uranium enrichment. He said Europeans assented to that goal,
and had told Iran it only had to suspend its atomic activities for months
rather than years.
"Iran is planning to suspend uranium conversion activities from Nov. 22,"
Rohani told a news conference.
Deal with European Union
Rohani said he hoped a deal struck with the European Union would mean the
board of the U.N. nuclear watchdog would start to discuss dropping Tehran's
dossier from its agenda.
"It is no problem if Iran wants to start uranium enrichment," he said.
"Based on the agreement, it is said the Europeans will support Iran to
become a member of the fuel-cycle club," he added.
The Uranium Ore
Uranium ore, or yellowcake, can be converted into uranium hexafluoride. This
in turn can be spun in centrifuges to produce enriched uranium.
Iran agreed to suspend its nuclear activities under the deal, but Rohani
said the European Union had assured Tehran it would not have to halt them
for long.
"The Europeans told us it was not a matter of many years but of several
months," Rohani said.
EU Welcomes
A report from Vienna says that the European Union [EU] has welcomed the
decision by Iran to suspend its nuclear enrichment plans.
A European diplomat has said that the reaction on Iran’s decision by three
big European countries France, Britain and Germany is expected anytime
today, yet the signs received from there are positive.
He said that with the decision to suspend uranium enrichment would open a
new chapter in the relations between Iran and EU. The diplomat said that EU
is analyzing the details of the agreement. The International Atomic Energy
Agency announced Monday that Iran has agreed on completely suspending its
nuclear enrichment program.●
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