Iran has objective guarantee for fuel deal : Spokesman

Tehran, May 18, IRNA – Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said Iran has got “objective guarantee” for its nuclear fuel swap.

He made the remark in his Tuesday morning news briefing in which he referred to the guarantees offered to Iran by Turkey and Brazil on nuclear fuel exchange on which Tehran, Ankara and Brasilia reached agreement in Tehran on May 17.

Mehman-Parast said Iran interpreted the guarantees offered to it on the issue by Turkey and Brazil as commitments by the international community.

He said Iran maintained the right to withdraw its less-enriched uranium from Turkey if the items included in the statement signed by Iran, Turkey and Brazil are not respected by the Vienna group including US, France and Russia, are violated by these three countries or they refuse to act according to the written agreement to be signed with them later.

The spokesman reiterated that according to the agreement, Turkish government would be responsible for handing back Iran’s LEU without any conditions if the trilateral agreement was violated.

Iran will announce its readiness for fuel swap in a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in future and then will officially sign an agreement if the other parties are ready, Mehman-Parast noted.

Asked whether Iran will continue enriching the 20- percent-enriched uranium after implementation of the nuclear fuel agreement in its soil, the spokesman said if the statement on exchange of 20-percent uranium with 3.5-uranium is implemented then the research reactor will have the fuel it needs./end