Iran has taken preparatory action to start up a uranium conversion plant it needs to fulfil an interim nuclear agreement reached with six world powers last year before the accord expires this month, diplomatic sources said yesterday.
The launch of the facility would show Tehran’s commitment to the landmark November 24 deal as it holds talks with the US, Russia, France, Germany, Britain and China on a long-term settlement of the dispute over its atomic aims.
The major powers want Iran to significantly scale back its nuclear programme to deny it any capability to quickly produce atomic bombs.
Iran says its activities are entirely peaceful and want crippling sanctions lifted as soon as possible.
We are talking about very complicated technical and political issues
In view of still wide differences in positions, some diplomats and experts believe the negotiations – and the preliminary agreement – may need to be extended.
But a spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who leads the negotiations on behalf of the powers, said they remained determined to try to get a comprehensive agreement by a self-imposed July 20 deadline.
“We see seriousness also on the other side,” Michael Mann told reporters. “It is difficult, there are still significant gaps, but that is not a surprise. We are talking about very complicated technical issues and also very complicated political issues. So we are working hard to try to narrow those gaps.”
Under the initial accord that runs for six months until July 20, Iran is supposed to convert a large amount of low-enriched uranium gas into an oxide form that would be less suitable for processing into nuclear bomb material.
It was one of the terms of the deal that won Tehran some easing of sanctions.
To be able to do that, it has been building a facility near the central city of Isfahan for turning the gas into powder. After months of delays, the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in May said the plant’s commissioning had begun, but it was still not operating.
Since then, however, the sources said practical steps had been taken indicating the work could start soon, if it had not already.