Posted on 11/04/2014 1:52:36 PM PST by Praxeologue
Iran has tentatively agreed to ship much of its huge stockpile of uranium to Russia if it reaches a broader nuclear deal with the West, according to officials and diplomats involved in the negotiations, potentially a major breakthrough in talks that have until now been deadlocked.
Under the proposed agreement, the Russians would convert the uranium into specialized fuel rods for the Bushehr nuclear power plant, Irans only commercial reactor. Once the uranium is converted into fuel rods, it is extremely difficult to use them to make a nuclear weapon. That could go a long way toward alleviating Western concerns about Irans stockpile, though the agreement would not cut off every pathway that Tehran could take to obtain a nuclear weapon.
With a Nov. 24 deadline looming on the nuclear talks, negotiators between Iran and the United States and five other nations are still far from agreement on a range of other issues that could derail a final agreement, including the number of centrifuges the country could keep spinning, the speed at which economic sanctions would be suspended, the fate of a heavy-water reactor that produces plutonium, and whether international inspectors would be free to visit any suspected covert facilities.
But if the Iran-Russia deal works, it could be the cornerstone of something much larger, said one American deeply involved in the discussions.
The chief American negotiator, Wendy R. Sherman, alluded to this possible solution to the uranium issue in a recent speech in which she said that we have made impressive progress on issues that originally seemed intractable. But Ms. Sherman, who on Monday was named acting deputy secretary of state, has refused to discuss any details of the role Russia could play, saying that negotiations, like mushrooms, do best in the dark. As a result,
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
...and it's Putin to the rescue? Again.
Obama making sure Iran has a nuclear bomb.
It only needs enough yellowcake to make one. After that all is moot!
Iran has tentatively agreed to ship much of its huge stockpile of uranium to Russia if it reaches a broader nuclear deal with the West ...the Russians would convert the uranium into specialized fuel rods for the Bushehr nuclear power plant, Irans only commercial reactor. Once the uranium is converted into fuel rods, it is extremely difficult to use them to make a nuclear weapon... the agreement would not cut off every pathway that Tehran could take to obtain a nuclear weapon.IOW, it's some desperate election-day agitprop.
If youd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
..................
Maybe Russia will store it in Syria.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.