Tehran, Jan. 20, 2010 (Hamsayeh.Net) - An Iranian official who requested not to be named told FNA that Iran’s decision about the ongoing nuclear fuel exchange proposal remains the same as it was announced earlier.

 

He said,  'The Islamic Republic of Iran's position is the same as what it was in its negotiations with potential nuclear fuel suppliers in Vienna on October 19-21.’ Iran’s nuclear proposal is basically a two-stage nuclear fuel exchange, which could take place mainly inside Iranian territory.

 

In contrast, Western countries demanded that Iran should ship almost all of its domestically low enriched uranium out of the country for an unspecified period, after which Tehran could receive higher enriched uranium back, if all goes according to the plan.

 

Of course, Tehran rejected such a proposal as soon as it was announced and in turn offered a more rational approach on the nuclear swap deal with potential to expand further into a long-term cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. Still, the United States and its Western allies have not given any official response to Iran’s generous offer, except uttering threats of more sanctions if Tehran refuses to accept their proposal right away.

In other news about the Iranian nuclear program, today a top US spy agency said it sees growing evidence that Tehran is restarting its research phase for manufacturing nuclear weapons in a report by Reuters.

 

Earlier, some US spy agencies had discovered that Tehran indeed abandoned its nuclear weapons program in 2003. But, according to Reuters, European nuclear experts believe Tehran is working on a nuclear weapons program, a view the United States does not fully share at this time. 

 

Tehran has always maintained that its domestic nuclear program is for peaceful purposes including generation of electricity for the country's growing demand and scientific research.