Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Iran's new nuclear proposal, a confidence-building measure: Ban

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, May 26, IRNA -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Iran's new nuclear proposal presented Monday to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be assessed by all concerned parties and, if accepted, could serve as an important confidence-building measure.

According to a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) here on Tuesday, he reiterated that the proposal could pave the way for a negotiated solution to the dispute.

Earlier, the IAEA spokesperson said the agency’s Director General Yukiya Amano had received the representatives of Iran, Brazil and Turkey, who delivered a letter signed by the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali-Akbar Salehi.

The letter follows the joint declaration signed by the three countries in Tehran on May 17, regarding fuel supply for the Tehran research nuclear reactor. Amano will convey the letter to the United States, France and Russia for their consideration, according to the IAEA spokesman.

Under the initiative brokered by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Iran would ship its low-enriched uranium out of the country in exchange for high-enriched uranium for use at a civilian nuclear research site in Tehran.

Ban welcomed the diplomatic efforts by Turkey and Brazil to resolve the international tensions related to Iran’s nuclear program, and reiterated his call to Tehran to show greater transparence on the issue.

“I have stated repeatedly that Iran should show greater transparency about its nuclear program,” the secretary-general told reporters in New York. “Let me stress once again the importance of Iran’s full cooperation with the IAEA and full compliance with Security Council resolutions,” he added.

Asked if he would consider calling for a pause on Security Council consultations that could result in fresh sanctions against Iran because of the new initiative, Ban said he was not in a position to take a particular stand, stressing once again that the Turkish-Brazilian proposal was a “very positive step towards a negotiated settlement if followed up with further engagement of the IAEA and the international community”. “There is clearly a difference of approach where we have confidence-building area [on the one hand] and permanent resolution of this issue [on the other]. How to strike a balance between all these will require political will and very professional technical review of the Turkish deal, and also some flexibility,” the secretary-general said.