TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s deputy parliament speaker on Thursday dismissed an internationally backed draft plan to have Tehran ship its uranium abroad for enrichment, the official IRNA news agency reported.
The remarks by Mohammad Reza Bahonar were the first reaction in Tehran on the proposal, presented Wednesday after three days of talks between Iran and world powers in the Austrian capital, Vienna.
The plan is seen by the international community as a way to curb Iran’s ability to build a nuclear weapon. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
Tehran is expected to decide by Friday on whether to approve the plan that calls for shipping Iran’s uranium to Russia for enrichment to a level that renders it suitable as nuclear fuel for energy production — not for nuclear weapons.
“The United States demanded Iran ship uranium abroad, in return for getting fuel back,” Bahonar said, according to IRNA. “But Iran does not accept this.”
