Iran says fuel swap still on the table
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Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said the door to talks on a nuclear swap deal with the West is still open, the local English language satellite Press TV reported Wednesday.
"We have the capability to enrich uranium to any percentage we wish, but we asked the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ask other countries to supply the 20 percent (fuel) because we did not want to go beyond 5 percent, but they did not respond," Salehi told Press TV Tuesday.
Iran could not let its Tehran research reactor, which needs 20 percent enriched uranium, run out of fuel because it produces medical radioisotopes for about 850,000 patients in Iran, he said.
Salehi said that Iran is still ready to send its low enriched uranium abroad when it receives the 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel, the report said.
"So the deal is still on the table. If they come forward and supply the fuel, then we will stop the 20 percent enrichment," Salehi was quoted as saying.
On Tuesday, Press TV reported that Iran began enriching uranium to a level of 20 percent at its Natanz enrichment facility under the surveillance of inspectors from the IAEA.
On Monday, Iran handed over a letter to the IAEA, informing it about the Islamic Republic's plan to produce 20 percent enriched uranium, provoking fresh warnings from West of new sanctions.
