Iran may withdraw a counter-offer it made to the International Atomic Energy
Agency in response to proposals from the major powers for the supply of nuclear
fuel, its IAEA envoy said Thursday.
"Iran's proposal for a simultaneous
exchange on Iranian soil of our low enriched uranium for fuel enriched to 20% is
still on the table but it will not stay there forever," Ali Asghar Soltanieh
said, quoted by Mehr news agency.
His words echoed similar warnings of a
time-limit from the major powers.
"Any development which might disturb
the climate of cooperation" would prompt Iran to withdraw the offer, he said,
alluding to the threat of new sanctions being leveled by Western governments
with Russian support.
Last October, the IAEA drew up a plan for Iran to
ship out most of its stockpiles of low enriched uranium in return for the supply
by France and Russia of uranium enriched to the 20% level required for a Tehran
medical research reactor.
Iran baulked at the stipulation that it ship
out the uranium before receiving any fuel and last month started enriching
uranium to 20% itself.
The move, launched before the IAEA could install
monitoring equipment, angered the European Union and the U.S., which Wednesday
began intense lobbying for tough new United Nations sanctions.
For
Western governments worried that Iran may otherwise covertly enrich some of the
stocks to weapons grade, the requirement to ship out most of Iran's stockpiles
before receiving any fuel is the main element of the IAEA plan.
U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday it was vital that a fourth
round of U.N. sanctions be enforced to apply pressure on Iran to accept the IAEA
plan.
"Only after we pass sanctions in the Security Council will Iran
negotiate in good faith," she said.
But veto-wielding U.N. Security
Council member China has been holding out, insisting the diplomatic path should
be pursued, and Clinton acknowledged this week that it might take months before
a new round of sanctions is agreed.
Brazil, a current member of the
Security Council but without veto power, too has thrown its weight against
sanctions.
Before a meeting in Brasilia with Clinton Wednesday,
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warned the international community not to
"push Iran into a corner."
"Peace in the world does not mean isolating
someone," said Lula, whose country has its own nuclear energy program.
Iran strongly denies Western suggestions that its nuclear program is
cover for a drive to build an atomic bomb.