Role for Russia Gives Iran Talks a Possible Boost

New York Times ^ | November 3, 2014 | DAVID E. SANGER

[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, Iran’s 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 Iran’s 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,

[Praxeologue]

Is this election day timing?

[TexasCajun]

Did Obama draw another red line I don't know about?

...and it's Putin to the rescue? Again.

[stephenjohnbanker]

Obama making sure Iran has a nuclear bomb.

[DoughtyOne]

Stiff sanctions, but hey why not pull Russia into talks about nuclear weapons?

Only in the mind of Obola.


Ramirez's latest political cartoon LARGE VERSION 11/04/2014: LINK  LINK to regular sized version of Ramirez's latest, and an archive of his political cartoons.
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FReepers, 42% of the FReepathon goal has been met.  Please click above and pencil in your donation now.  Please folks, lets pick up the pace and end this FReepathon. Thank you!
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[Don Corleone]

It only needs enough yellowcake to make one. After that all is moot!

[SunkenCiv]

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, Iran’s 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.

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

..................

Maybe Russia will store it in Syria.

[AdmSmith]

Maybe it is possible to calculate their real cost of enriched U. The present cost of production today can be calculated here http://www.uxc.com/tools/FuelCalculator.aspx Have they paid 1000 times more than the market price? and if they include the losses to their economy: What is the true cost of their policy?

The historical price of U3O8:


and the SWU price