Iran Denies Reaching Deal With Russia on Uranium Enrichment

MosNews- Iran has officially denied reaching a basic deal to enrich uranium in a joint venture with Russia that was announced by Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency Ali Asghar Soltanieh on Saturday, the Associated Press reported.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters that a Russian compromise plan for joint uranium enrichment was still on the table.

The Saturday announcement was a repeat of a similar declaration by Iran and Russia in February the details of which were never worked out.

“The ground need to be prepared for its implementation,” Asefi said. It still remains unclear whether Iran would entirely give up enrichment at home, a top demand of the West, or if the joint venture would be complementary to existing enrichment inside Iran.

Asefi insisted Sunday that Iran has not used any advanced P-2 centrifuges in its enrichment of uranium.

Such a device would be a vast improvement over the current P-1 centrifuges, which Iran has said it used to enrich uranium.

Iran’s hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed last week that his country was conducting laboratory research on the advanced P-2 centrifuge, which could be used to create fuel more quickly for power plants or atomic weapons.

“We have not so far used P-2 centrifuges. What we have used is P-1,” Asefi told reporters.

The spokesman, however, said Iran had the right to work on P-2 centrifuge.

“No one can deny us the right to such work,” he said.

Iran has vowed it would never give up its right under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty to enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel.