ISTANBUL (Hurriyet)–Iran has begun secret negotiations with Turkey and three other countries to surrender significant amounts of its uranium stockpile and cease enrichment in exchange for an end to international sanctions, the Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.
According to the British daily’s report, the Turkish-led deal calls on Iran to ship roughly 1,000 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium, as well as its entire 30 kilogram stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium, to a safe location. In return, France and Russia will supply ready-made fuel rods for the medical isotope reactor for which Iran says it has been enriching uranium to 20 percent – a level which halves the time needed to manufacture weapons-grade material.
In exchange, the international community would agree to end sanctions that have crippled the country’s economy, the daily said.
France, Russia and the United States have also been involved in the negotiations, which began after a meeting between Ahmed Davutoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, and Iranian officials in Bahrain earlier this month, the daily reported, citing anonymous diplomatic sources.
