Iran's decision to enrich to 20% of its stock of
uranium was never part of the negotiations behind the nuclear fuel
swap deal Brazil and Turkey struck with Tehran last week, Brazil's
foreign minister said Friday.
"That was not part--for
many good reasons--because that had not happened," Celso Amorim
told reporters asking how Iran's recent decision would influence
world powers seeking more sanctions to curb Tehran's nuclear
ambitions.
"The 20% enrichment was not part of the
original proposal of the 5+1 [the permanent UN Security Council
members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus
Germany] and specially the Vienna Group to Iran, which was meant to
build confidence," Amorim said.
"Iran, actually,
had asked the agency [UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA]
to get the 20% enriched uranium under the form of fuel rods. Its a
right, assured by the NPT," he added, referring to the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty.
"So, what happened? Some
countries thought this was an opportunity to propose an agreement"
like the one struck last week, Amorim said as he stood next to his
Turkish counterpart Ahmed Davutoglu on the sidelines of a UN Alliance
of Civilizations conference in Rio.
"Our mission was to
solve this exchange of uranium. The future of the Iranian nuclear
issue is between Iran and the 5+1 and Iran and the IAEA. We've opened
a way for that dialogue," said the Turkish minister.
"And
if Iran respects the rules of NPT and cooperates with the IAEA, Iran
has the right of developing nuclear technology," Davutoglu
added.
The cold reception world nuclear powers gave the
nuclear swap deal, and their decision to propose a new sanctions
resolution against Iran in the UN Security Council, disappointed
Brazil and Turkey and has soured Washington-Brasilia relations.
The
United States is pushing the U.N. resolution to punish Iran with a
fourth set of sanctions after deeming that it is not doing enough to
meet international demands to show its nuclear program is peaceful.