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U.S. Calls Iranian Nuclear Offer Unacceptable
(VOA News) David Gollust - The U.S. Tuesday said an Iranian offer to trade its low-enriched uranium for more highly-processed fuel for a research reactor is unacceptable. The State Department said U.S. diplomats are aggressively pursuing the idea of additional sanctions against Tehran because of its non-cooperation on the nuclear issue. The State Department says the Iranian message does not contain anything that hasn't been heard before, and that Tehran continues to back-track from its initial acceptance of the IAEA plan. In its message to the IAEA, Iran said Tuesday it is willing to trade low-enriched uranium for reactor fuel but the exchange would have to be simultaneous and take place on Iranian soil. State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley called the Iranian offer "a red herring" - a diversion that would do nothing to reassure the world community that its nuclear program is peaceful. "Under the Iranian proposal, there would be an exchange, but that would require the international community to front its own fuel to satisfy Iranian needs, while Iran continues to violate its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. So this response, the Iranian counterproposal, is unacceptable."