Iran expressed support on Monday for the creation of a regional nuclear fuel group while reaffirming its right to enrich uranium amid ongoing talks with the United States.
Iran and the United States, adversaries for over four decades, began significant talks on the contentious issue of Iran’s nuclear programme on 12 April, with Oman mediating.
US officials have publicly opposed any uranium enrichment by Iran.
Tehran, which insists on its right to a peaceful nuclear programme and denies any military ambitions, views this demand as a red line, contrary to the provisions of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), to which Iran is a signatory.
On Tuesday, The New York Times reported that Iran has proposed the creation of a joint enterprise for enrichment, involving Arab countries and US investments.
“We have never proposed the idea of a consortium,” Esmaïl Baghaï, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said at a press briefing, “but we would welcome such an initiative.”
According to Baghaï, that would allow “any interested countries to invest in the consortium and obtain the fuel they need for their peaceful nuclear programmes.”
The United Arab Emirates hosts the only nuclear power plant in the Arab world, while Saudi Arabia announced plans in 2018 to build 16 nuclear reactors over 20 years.
On Sunday, Iran’s chief diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, stated that his country would continue to enrich uranium “with or without an agreement” with major powers.
Currently, Iran enriches uranium to 60%, far exceeding the 3.67% limit set by the 2015 nuclear deal, but below the 90% threshold required for military use, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
