[Washington Post] Glenn Kessler and Thomas Erdbrink - Iran on Thursday appeared to reject a key element of a UN-backed proposal aimed at quickly reducing its stockpile of enriched uranium, offering an informal oral counteroffer that diplomats said fell far short of a tentative deal reached earlier this month. Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told the Iranian ambassador to the UN agency that the counteroffer would not be acceptable. A central element of the plan conceived by the Obama administration is that Iran must ship the enriched uranium out of the country in one batch by the end of the year. The long-awaited Iranian answer appeared to dash hopes that Tehran would be willing to quickly embrace engagement with the West on its nuclear program. Obama administration officials will now need to assess whether engagement has run its course - and whether to shift toward tougher sanctions.
2009-10-30 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive