VIENNA, Austria -- Iran has given an "initial response" to the International Atomic Energy agency on a plan that calls for Tehran to ship much of its enriched uranium abroad, the IAEA said Thursday. The wording of the IAEA statement appeared to dash Western hopes of a quick deal that would delay Tehran's ability to make a nuclear weapon.
The U.S. and allied countries were seeking Iranian agreement to ship out 70 percent of its low-enriched uranium to Russia in one shipment for further enrichment and conversion into fuel for a Tehran research reactor.
Sending that amount in one batch would not leave Tehran with enough material to make weapons-grade uranium should it decide to make a warhead. Experts say Iran would need at least a year to produce enough to make up for the exported material, giving the international community a window in its efforts to persuade the Islamic Republic to freeze its enrichment program.
But Iran has signaled in recent days that it was unwilling to give up most of its enriched stockpile in a single shipment and would seek to re-negotiate terms worked out by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei in talks last week with Iran, Russia, France and the U.S. That Iranian stance was reinforced by the language of the IAEA statement.
Besides speaking of "an initial response from the Iranian authorities" _ suggesting that Iran was looking for further talks _ the statement indicated the possible need for further negotiations. It said ElBaradei expressed "hope that agreement can be reached soon" and was consulting with the four nations involved.
The plan would commit Iran to turn over more than 2,600 pounds (1,200 kilograms) of low-enriched uranium _ more than the commonly accepted amount of low-enriched uranium needed to produce weapons-grade uranium. The West says Tehran agreed in principle to export that amount in one shipment during Oct. 1 talks in Geneva with the U.S. and five other world powers.
But if Tehran did accept the plan in Geneva, it has subsequently backtracked.
It has indicated that it may insist on being allowed to buy the fuel for the Tehran reactor from abroad _ or to ship the material in small batches. That would not reduce fears about further enrichment to weapons-grade uranium because Iran would be able to quickly replace small amounts it sent out of the country with newly enriched material.
Earlier, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that Tehran will not give up its nuclear program although the West and Iran are now cooperating on the issue _ remarks that appear to reinforce Iran's support for the general outline of a U.N.-drafted nuclear deal.
The speech by Iran's president came on the same day Iran has promised to deliver its decision on the U.N. pact, which seeks to ease Western worries about Tehran's ability to produce a nuclear warhead.
Ahmadinejad's speech suggested that Iran will stick by earlier comments that support the framework of the deal, but demand some changes. A key point is how quickly Iran is willing to send its stockpile of low-enriched uranium outside the country for further processing.
Ahmadinejad said the West has moved "from confrontation to interaction" with Iran over its uranium enrichment program, which he called an "inalienable right of the Iranian nation."
"Today we reached a very important point," Ahmadinejad said, speaking at a rally in the northeastern city of Mashhad. "Ground has been paved for nuclear cooperation" and Tehran is ready to now work on nuclear fuel supplies and technical know-how with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Ahmadinejad added.
But he insisted his government "will not retreat even an iota" over the nation's right to pursue a nuclear program _ which the West fears masks a nuclear arms ambition.
Tehran signaled this week it wants significant changes in the U.N. deal and to be allowed either to buy the fuel for the Tehran reactor from abroad or to ship the material in small batches. That would not reduce fears about further enrichment to weapons-grade uranium because Iran would be able to quickly replace small amounts it sent out of the country with newly enriched material.
Ahmadinejad said the West had pushed for halting Iran's nuclear program in the past but that now it is "ready for cooperation and participation on exchange of nuclear fuel and building power plants."
The U.N. Security Council has slapped three sets of sanctions against Iran after the country refused to halt the uranium enrichment.
But the world now recognizes Iran's nuclear right, Ahmadinejad claimed. "We welcome the West's change in behavior," he said, adding that Iran is ready to "shake any hand that is honestly extended toward us."
Also Thursday, a team of U.N. nuclear inspectors returned to the agency's headquarters in Vienna from a visit to a previously secret Iranian uranium enrichment site. It expressed satisfaction with the mission but details have not been revealed.
What the inspectors saw _ and how freely they were allowed to work _ will be key in deciding whether six world powers engaging Iran in efforts to reduce fears that it seeks to make nuclear weapons seek a new round of talks with Tehran.
The Fordo site is near the holy city of Qom. Iran revealed it was building it Sept. 21 in a confidential letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Just days later, the leaders of the U.S., Britain and France condemned Tehran for having kept it secret.
The West believes Iran revealed the site's existence only because it had learned that the U.S. and its allies were about to make it public. Iran denies that.
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