TEHRAN — Iran said Tuesday it was ready to send its uranium abroad for further enrichment as requested by the United Nations.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the decision in an interview with state Iranian television. He said Iran will have “no problem” giving the West its low-enriched uranium and taking it back several months later when it is enriched by 20 percent.
The decision could signal a major shift in the Iranian position on the issue. Still, it was unclear how much of a concession the Ahmadinejad comments represented, even though he appeared to be saying for the first time that Iran was willing to ship out its enriched uranium and wait for it to be returned in the form of fuel for its Tehran research reactor.
International Atomic Energy Agency officials did not immediately return calls for comment.
The United States and its Western allies have been pushing for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions to be slapped on Iran over its disputed nuclear program. The Associated Press
