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US may let Iran partially enrich uranium

28 April 2012 07:54 (UTC +04:00)

In what would be a major concession, Washington could agree to allow Tehran to enrich uranium up to five percent purity if the Islamic Republic agrees to unrestricted inspections of its nuclear sites and other conditions, the newspaper said, citing US officials. Tehran would also be required to agree to strict oversight and safeguards that the United Nations has long demanded. Approving any level of enrichment has been a subject of much controversy within the US government and among its allies. US officials did not immediately confirm the report. At present Iran has some 6,600 pounds (3,000 kilograms) of low-enriched uranium of 3.5-percent purity, but of greater concern is the country’s rapidly expanding capacity to enrich to 20 percent at its virtually impregnable Fordo site. Western powers fear that if Iran were to take the decision to develop the bomb, it could relatively quickly reconfigure Fordo’s centrifuges to enrich to weapons-grade levels of 90 percent. But the Times said a consensus has gradually emerged that the Iranians are unlikely to accept a complete halt to enrichment, and that the issue could prevent a negotiated deal to stop Iran’s program short of a military attack.