Iran signs nuclear fuel deal with Russia ignoring U.S.
by the associated press
BUSHEHR, Iran- Iran and Russia ignored U.S.objections and signed a nuclear fuel agreement Sunday that is key to bringingTehran’s first reactor online by mid-2006.
Thelong-delayed deal, signed at the heavily guarded Bushehr nuclear facility insouthern Iran, dramatized President Bush’s failure to persuade the Russians tocurtail support for the Iranian nuclear program during his summit with VladimirPutin on Thursday in Slovakia.
Under thedeal, Russia will provide nuclear fuel to Iran, then take back the spent fuel,a step meant as a safeguard to ensure it cannot be diverted into a weaponsprogram.
Iran has alsoagreed to allow the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, the International AtomicEnergy Agency, to monitor Bushehr and the fuel deliveries.
Iranian VicePresident Gholamreza Aghazadeh and Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency chiefAlexander Rumyantsev signed the agreement. The signing, which was delayed by aday, came after the two senior officials toured the $800 million complex.
“Today, a veryimportant development occurred, and that was the protocol on returning nuclearfuel, which we signed together. In the next few weeks many Russian technicianswill arrive in Bushehr” to finish the plant, Rumyantsev said.
Both officialsrefused to discuss the details of shipping the nuclear fuel to Iran and thespent fuel back to Russia, but they insisted that the agreement conforms tointernational nuclear regulations.
“Iran observesall the regulations on the prohibition of the spread of nuclear weapons,”Rumyantsev said.
The WhiteHouse declined comment, as did the State Department.
Washingtonaccuses Tehran of covertly trying to build a nuclear bomb, which Iran denies.Thursday’s summit between Bush and Putin in Bratislava, Slovakia, had touchedon American concerns over Russian support for Iran’s nuclear program.
Putin has saidhe is sure Iran’s intentions are merely to generate energy, not create weapons,and that Russian cooperation with Tehran would continue.
MohammadSaeedi, deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said the Bush-Putintalks did not affect the agreement.
“Our talks(with the Russians) have been successful,” Saeedi said.
