Ahmadinejad Offer Could Be Key To West's Diplomacy With Iran
When the US and its allies resume negotiations with Iran in the coming weeks, they should quickly put Iran to the test by accepting an offer by Iranian President Mahmood Ahmadinejad to obtain highly enriched uranium from the West for Iran’s nuclear medical research in return for Iran halting its own enrichment program at the 20% level.
When the US and its allies resume negotiations with Iran in the coming weeks, they should quickly put Iran to the test by accepting an offer by Iranian President Mahmood Ahmadinejad to obtain highly enriched uranium from the West for Iran’s nuclear medical research in return for Iran halting its own enrichment program at the 20% level.
On September 21, 2011, Ahmadinejad said: “If they give it [20% enriched uranium] to us, according to international law, according to IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] laws, without preconditions, we will cease domestic enrichment.” He repeated the offer several times during last year’s UN General Assembly session.
Iranian officials indicated privately that the offer had been vetted in Tehran.
Although Ahmadinejad’s proposal was ignored at the time, and then overtaken by US accusations of an Iranian plot to kill the Saudi ambassador in the United States, it may now hold the key to getting traction with this latest round of diplomacy.
