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U.S., British, French delegations walk out of UN General Assembly hall

03 May 2010 19:19 (UTC +04:00)

Addressing the delegates from 189 nations, Ahmadinejad said Washington was pushing Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program while continuing to develop its own nuclear weapons.

Answering UN Secretary General’s call for Iran to agree on the exchange of uranium for nuclear fuel, Ahmadinejad said Iran was always ready for it.

"I want to reply to UN Secretary General’s call for Iran to agree on the exchange of uranium for nuclear fuel... Iran was always ready for this, and I want to announce once again that it is acceptable for Iran, and we have made our proposal concerning the issue. Now, the ball is on the side of other states, which should accept our proposals," he said.

The United States and other Western countries suspect Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear energy program.

In line with the UN plan drawn up in Vienna last October, the Islamic Republic was to ship out its low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment and subsequently send it to France where it would be made into fuel rods.

Tehran stalled the plan, suggesting it could consider a simultaneous swap of its low-enriched uranium for 20%-enriched uranium, but that the exchange should be simultaneous and would have to take place on its own territory.