Iran and Russia reach tenuous deal on nuclear programmes

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Iran and Russia reach tenuous deal on nuclear programmes


Ian Traynor
Monday February 27, 2006
The Guardian

Iran and Russia signalled agreement yesterday on a joint uranium enrichment project aimed at reducing suspicions that Tehran is bent on building a nuclear bomb.

But the agreement had few long-term prospects of surviving. Its timing and vagueness looked geared to forestalling Iran's referral to the UN security council when the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, meets next week to discuss Iran's nuclear plans.

The IAEA chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, is about to issue a major report on three years of nuclear inspections in Iran. The Iranian moves - agreement with Russia plus access and information this week for senior IAEA officials - looked intended to influence and water down his findings.

Moscow said at the weekend that it wanted the row confined to the IAEA and not taken to the security council, which can impose sanctions. The compromise on offer, previously rejected by Iran, is that Russia would manufacture enriched uranium for a civil nuclear programme in Iran, providing guaranteed supplies of nuclear fuel. The quid pro quo, demanded by the west, is that Iran forfeits its domestic uranium enrichment programme, disabling its capacity to acquire the knowhow and material for a nuclear bomb.

The Iranians have said that they will not abandon their domestic uranium enrichment programme and recently restarted enrichment on a small scale, cancelling a suspension agreed 15 months ago with the EU. In order for the deal with Russia to work, the Iranians must reinstate a freeze. There was no sign yesterday that this was part of the "agreement in principle".

UN nuclear inspectors headed to Tehran at the weekend, being promised answers to questions previously rebuffed on suspected links between Iran's civil and military programmes in nuclear matters.