TEHRAN, Iran — Iran would be willing to swap nuclear material with the West in Turkey, the foreign minister said in the country’s latest counteroffer to a U.N.-drafted deal aimed at thwarting Tehran’s ability to produce atomic weapons.
The U.N. proposal aims to reduce Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium.
Under the proposal, the uranium would be shipped to France and Russia in exchange for more highly enriched fuel rods not suitable for weapons.
Speaking on Iran’s state TV late Thursday, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki suggested Turkey, which neighbors Iran and has good relations with the West, as a venue for the nuclear exchanges.
In Turkey, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said his government is ready to do its best to help reach a solution.
The U.S. and its allies have demanded Iran accept the terms of the U.N.-brokered plan without changes. Under the plan, drafted last month, Iran would export low-enriched uranium for further enrichment in Russia and France, where it would be converted into fuel rods. The rods, which Iran needs for a research reactor in Tehran, would return to the country about a year later.
